Stalking Casey
by stephluvvsyou
Summary: It could happen to anyone, right?
1. This Happens To People All The Time

**AN : Okay so this is posted up at my forum, however someone asked me if I had thought about posting it here. And I have, but I was kind of reluctant. I'm not sure if it's good enough material or if it will interest you guys, but this is my take on a Dasey horror story. I'm only going to post the first chapter now, and if I feel like you guys like it enough I'll keep posting chapters for you! **

**Also the two other fics I have out : Love, Derek and Take Me To The River are on haitus due to the fact that I got writers block for them so bad. For what it's worth though, I have almost finished a chapter two to both of them. So for any of you that have read those I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to update them. This story though is flowing out of me like crazy. I've already written 3 full chapters and have started working on 4. Guess it was meant to be! Lol. Anyways, enough rambling. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_Part One - This Happens To People All The Time_

* * *

"Casey, I want you to be careful this weekend, and here's the number for the hotel we'll be staying at if there's any trouble at all, okay? Don't hesitate to call us and remember to-"

"Mom." Casey interrupted Nora's nervous ranting in the kitchen.

The house was in a frantic state as George, Marti, Lizzie, and Edwin rushed around gathering their belongings. Nora talking 90 miles an hour wasn't making anything any better.

"Everything will be fine, trust me." Casey reassured her mother, bringing a much more calm expression to her features.

"Last time you told her that, before we knew it, the entire population of the high school was here!" Edwin called from the living room. Casey shook her head. Always bad timing. And she noticed her mother getting that nervous look all over again.

"But!" Casey took her mother's hand in her own as they walked to the living room, "We've learned since then." she then re-thought her statement, "Well, at least I have." An annoying gaze came to Casey's face as she recalled the night of 'the party', but was shaken out of them with her mom's reply.

"I know that you have, I trust you." Nora then smiled at her daughter as they began to gather towards the front door.

"DEREK!" George called out through the house.

"WHAT?!" came a yelled reply from upstairs.

"GET DOWN HERE!" he screamed back, before abruptly coughing, resulting in him having to clear his throat.

"Well honey..." Nora watched him regain his composure with a puzzled look. Seriously she had no idea how the man managed to do the things he did.

The sound of footsteps came from around the corner, and Derek joined Casey by her side to bid their family ado.

"No parties, no sleepovers, no random acts of idiocy, no-" George began with his strict lecture, causing both Casey and Derek to glance at him with a bored expression. They'd heard it all before.

Nora interrupted George before he could finish, as she extended her hand to Casey. "Here's some money while we're gone, you guys use it for things that you need, and please don't blow it or fight over it."

"Mom, when have you ever known me to blow money?" Casey asked, as she reached out to take the money.

"You're right." Derek piped in, snatching the money from Nora's hand, thus causing Casey to glare at him with a dropped jaw. He smirked at her, "Better let me hang onto it."

"Derek." George said sternly. His glare towards his son said it all, and Derek sighed before slapping the money into Casey's hand.

"Ow..." Casey shook her stinging hand.

Derek supressed the fit of laughter he'd wanted to unleash on her for being such a weakling, but noticed that his dad was still glaring at him, and dismissed the urge.

"Casey, are you sure you guys will be okay? Cause if you want to just go with us we can-" Nora once again started on her rant.

Derek sighed. Nora was always like this before they were going to be leaving them alone for the weekend. How old did she think they were? 10?

"Mom really, it's only for 3 days." Casey once again did her best to reassure her mother that things would be fine, "Derek and I will be just fine. Right?" she glanced at Derek, who had completely lost interest in the conversation, and was studying Lizzie and Edwin on the couch. They were arguing over who had to sit in the middle seat of the car - as Marti had already claimed a window seat. They were now playing rock,paper,scissors. 'Kids...' Derek thought, 'Glad I never was one.'

Casey rolled her eyes and turned back to face Nora, "Anyways, you can't not go. And I can't leave. I have a date with Max tomorrow, and alot of studying to do." She smiled again at her mother.

"Right." Nora nodded.

"Honey, we're running behind, let's go." George ushered Nora along, "Lizzie, Edwin, Marti! Let's go!"

The 3 youngest evacuated their seats from the couch and headed for the door. Lizzie hugged Casey, telling her to have fun and not to go too crazy in the house all weekend with Derek.

Edwin and Derek shared their 'sibling - handshake', and Casey overheard Derek saying something about if Edwin seen any hot girls, to bring back their phone numbers.

"You got it bro." Edwin said, before walking out, bag slung over his arm.

"I'll miss you Smerek." Marti said as she ran towards her older brother.

Derek scooped her up in his arms, embracing her, "And I will miss you too Smarti!" He placed her back down on the floor, before kneeling down in front of her, "But it's only for 3 days. Promise me you'll have fun and not be sad cause I'm not there okay?"

Marti nodded as Derek held out his pinky finger. She smiled and linked hers with his, "I promise!"

"That's my girl. Now go on get out of here!" he smiled and nudged her on her way, standing back up at Casey's side.

"Bye mom, love you." Casey said as she watched her mom walk out the door, closing it behind her. She almost felt the urge to cry.

"What's with you?" Derek asked as he gazed over at her.

"What?" Casey replied with a question of her own, "What are you talking about?"

"You said 'bye' and you look like you're going to cry." Derek answered, before holding up a finger, "And please remember how I feel about that."

It was true. Casey never said 'bye' to her mother. She usually would say 'see you in a few days.'

Goodbyes were permanant. She brushed it off though, and glared at Derek, angry for being so attentive now, when she could have used his backup earlier trying to convince her mom things would be fine. "I don't know what you're talking about." she snapped, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a phone call to make."

It was Derek's turn to roll his eyes at her again, "Oh yes, the loser with the football jacket awaits."

Casey, who had been already on her way to the kitchen for the phone, spun around on her heel and glared at him again. She pointed a finger towards him, "Max is NOT a loser!"

Derek fought the urge to laugh at her again, shrugging his shoulders instead, "Whatever you say princess."

Casey scowled. He was in an extra irritating mood tonight. First calling Max a loser, then calling her princess. She hated that. But she would not give into his 'games'. She took a deep breath, and turned to walk away. 'Just keep going Casey, don't look back.' She told herself as she started up the stairs. Derek watched her go with a smirk on his face. Ah. Life was good.

"See you Monday. Goodnight Max." Casey hung up the phone an hour later. She'd been fortunate enough to have no interruptions during her phone call, which was a first time. Still, what could Derek possibly be doing that distracted him enough to not terrorize her for an entire hour?

As she was standing from her bed, the messenger on her computer popped up. She walked over to it and sat down in her chair. She was thinking it was Emily or Kendra, but was shocked when a username popped up that she didn't recognize.

'Hi Casey.'

'Hi. Who is this?'

'You looked really pretty today at school.'

Casey smiled a bit. Someone she didn't know was trying to flatter her. Well obviously she had to know this person if they went to the same school, and this person had her screen name.

'Thanks I guess. But you still haven't told me your name?'

She waited for a minute, but the person never responded. A few seconds later, they signed off.

'Huh.' Casey thought, 'Maybe they were too nervous to tell me their name.' She pushed any strange feeling she had about the encounter away, and headed downstairs to see what her darling step-brother was up to.

He was in his chair watching a movie of some kind. She walked in and took her usual seat on the couch beside him. "You've been really quiet this evening."

Derek glanced over at her, "I know. So have you. It's been rather pleasant."

"Yes it has." Casey replied, as she turned to face the tv again. '"These movies are all the same."

"I beg to differ!" Derek retorted, looking at her as if she'd just violated a major law.

"They are! It's all starring some girl who is being stalked that loses all her friends and her 'hot' boyfriend to some weapon wielding psycho." Casey explained in one breath.

"Casey Casey Casey." Derek said, though amused by her comment, still had to make a remark back, "Have I taught you nothing? You've got to read in between the lines with movies like these. True, you're description was perfect, but it was so vague!"

Casey rolled her eyes and watched him pick up a remote and pause the movie. "For instance, yeah the girl is being stalked, but why? Does she know the person stalking her? Usually yes but once in a while we have the occasional internet incident where a psycho comes across her myspace picture. How long has she been being stalked for? This is real stuff Case. You should never be too assured to know it couldn't happen to you."

Derek paused for a moment and Casey stiffened as her messenger memory came flooding back, but she quickly brushed it away again, seeing as Derek loved to get under her skin, and this is what his purpose in the entire conversation was.

"Personally, I don't think you should be worried though. Who on earth would want to stalk you?" Derek then smarted off, earning him another glare to add to the many he'd already received from her that day.

"Well whatever." Casey huffed, "It's still all lame to me." She couldn't help but think of the messenger incident again. "So…is a secret admirer the same as a stalker?"

"Ehh…" Derek cocked his head from side to side, "Depends. Secret admirers are harmless, but they have been known to take their admiration as far as obsession, and that my dear step-sister, is when they become a stalker."

Casey looked at him strangely for a moment, "How do you know so much about this?"

"Duh." Derek stated simply, "I've probably seen every movie known to man about stalkers."

"Yeah but those are fake. They're not real."

"On the contrary. This happens to people all the time."

"Yeah but why would people stalk others for real? They should just talk to the person."

"Well but there are reasons that sometimes prevent that."

"Like?"

"Like if the girl has a boyfriend. Or if a guy is being stalked, he has a girlfriend. They may feel like they can't say anything to that person for that reason." Derek explained, "But in my opinion, any guy who allows himself to be stalked is an idiot."

Casey had heard enough. Derek definitely watched too many movies. And she had more important things to worry about than this. Like what she was going to wear on her date with Max tomorrow, and when she would start studying. On top of that, talking to Max on the phone for an hour had given her an appetite, so she decided to change the subject. "You hungry?"

"I'm a guy. I'm always hungry." Derek replied.

Casey rolled her eyes, "Well any suggestions on dinner?"

"I don't care. As long as it's edible." Derek answered, "You must be hungry too."

"Yeah. I really don't want to cook though." Casey answered back. "And anything microwavable might make me hurl."

"So let's go eat somewhere then. I'll let you pick."

20 minutes later, Derek was knocking on Casey's bedroom door, "Are you ready? I'm starving at this point!"

"Yes just…one second!" She huffed. She hated when Derek rushed her.

She grabbed her jacket and purse and went to walk out the door when she heard her messenger go off again. She froze in her tracks and turned to glance towards the computer screen. Maybe it really was Emily this time? She walked over towards the computer and looked at the screen.

'Are you still wearing that pink outfit?'

Casey glanced down at her ensemble and made a strange face at the screen.

'Who is this?'

Derek was still hounding her from the other side of her bedroom door, but she didn't utter a word in response. She was hoping this person, whomever it was would respond this time and actually answer the question.

'Secret.'

She felt calmer for some reason at this.

'Secret admirer? Really, you can just tell me your name. It's no big deal.'

At that moment, Derek had burst through her door, "What is taking you so long, and why can't you answer me?"

Casey stood up real fast and spun around, "Well maybe if you didn't have the attention span of a moth!"

"Blah…blah…blah…" Derek mocked, before spinning around and walking out her bedroom door. She followed him out, snapping back at him, completely forgetting about the computer.

2 hours later they returned home. They'd had an absolute blast tonight. In all reality, they got along in a strange sense. And it was mostly when the others weren't around. Derek for one, felt obligated to demonstrate to Edwin a firm example of what step-sibling rivalry was really supposed to be like. You don't make friends. You are enemies. They become a threat? You eliminate. Simple as that. Casey just felt like with everyone else around it was just added stress. She wouldn't trade any of them for the world, but I mean, face the situation, there were 7 of them. And as long as Derek had to be 'role model' for Ed, there was no way they'd ever get along with everyone else around.

"Really, Case, if I would have known you were going to choose pizza, we could have just ordered it and not had to waste the time going out." Derek said, as he opened the front door for her, and waited for her to walk in.

She glared at him, "Oh please Derek. You had just as much fun in the arcade as you did stuffing your face." With that being said she walked in, leaving him in silence for a split second.

He contemplated what she said, decided she was right, shrugged, and followed her. Of course, he would never admit that she was right, "Whatever. You're so wrong about that."

Casey had placed her jacket on the coat hanger, before turning to him with a strange look, "Then why did it take me forever to pry you away from the crane machine?"

"Hey!" Derek snapped quickly, removing his own jacket and pointing an accusing finger at her, "If you can't appreciate Mr. Cuddles then I'll just claim him as my own!"

She pulled a small stuffed bear out of her purse and held it close to her chest, "I do appreciate Mr. Cuddles! That's not what I was saying…"

"That's what I thought." Derek said matter-of-factly, as he walked towards the stairs, feeling reassured he had won that argument at least. In all actuality, he did favor that bear. He just gave it to Casey so she'd shut up and stop peering over his shoulder. Crane machines took skill. And he was proud of his victory tonight. He'd given a lone stuffed animal a home.

Casey yawned, and took to the stairs with him, "I'm going to bed. I have a date with Max tomorrow."

"Pfft." Derek huffed from behind her. "Yeah you better get all the beauty sleep you can. Lord knows you need it."

"Is that so?" Casey spun on her heel and glared at him.

"Do you really want me to say more?" Derek asked in a challenging way, smirking at her poised figure.

She spun back around and continued up the stairs and down the hallway towards her room, "Well my secret admirer would beg to differ."

"What?" Derek almost laughed at this, "You? A secret admirer?" After he repeated it to himself, he did decide to laugh, earning him yet another cold stare.

"Go ahead, laugh all you want, but I really do have one." Casey replied in an all-knowing manner, "And he told me I looked pretty today."

She marched into her room, but had struck Derek's interest enough for him to follow, "So wait, you have a secret admirer, and you know who it is?"

"No dipshit. How could I if he's a secret admirer?" She paused for a minute, "You do know what secret means, right?"

"You said he called you pretty today." Derek answered back, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah. He must go to school with us." Casey replied, walking over to her drawers to pull out her pajamas.

"Not only does this guy have to be blind, he must be stupid as well." Derek mumbled from his spot, "But in all actuality, I'd rather you date him, than that lug of a boyfriend you have now."

"Just what is your problem with Max anyway Derek? All you ever do is make fun of him." Casey snapped at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah. I don't like him." Derek stated simply.

"Well you know what? Sometimes I don't like you either!" Casey spat, before stomping off to the bathroom.

"Haha ooh you're so mean Case." Derek half laughed, half remarked, "Why must you break my heart so?"

That earned him a loud huff, and a slam of the bathroom door. He smirked again, before standing up to leave her room and go to his own, but before he could make it, the sound of her messenger going off caught his ear. He wasn't one to snoop…oh who the hell was he trying to fool, yes he was. He walked over to her computer and sat down.

'Where were you for so long? I missed you.'

Derek smirked. He could really have some fun with this. And possibly figure out who this dweeb was.

'I was hanging out with my step-brother. Tons of fun.'

'Hanging out with Derek? I thought you hated him.'

Derek's eyes bugged a little. So this person knew who he was too.

'No way. Derek is amazing. So, you obviously had to have spent some time with me though to think that I hate him.'

'It's just the way you always look at him. Like you're annoyed.'

'Usually I'm annoyed with my boyfriend. Derek just gets caught in the crossfire.'

'You're boyfriend….Max?'

Derek stiffened in his seat slightly. Someone was quite the observer. He heard the shower turn on. Good. He had some time left to pry still.

'So why don't you tell me more about you.'

'Why would I do that? Takes all the fun out of everything.'

'Well obviously you know a lot about me, so why not even things out?'

'Haha I do know everything about you. But no.'

'Everything?'

'You doubt me?'

Derek smirked. Who was this clown? He didn't know whether to beat his ass at school Monday or hug him for trying so hard.

'Okay then I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.' He paused for a moment, before typing a few extra words, 'So we've never actually talked in person?'

After Derek sent the message, he waited for a second then watched the other user abruptly sign off. He leaned back in Casey's chair. Something wasn't right about this. He was sure this was just the typical case of a 'secret admirer' but really something just didn't feel right.

He waited in Casey's room until he heard her shower water turn off, hoping this mysterious person would sign back on, but they didn't.

**AN : Remember to review so I know that you guys like it enough for me to keep posting! Please and thank you? )**


	2. Stuff Like That Gets Around

**AN : Hola everyone and a huge THANKS to those of you who reviewed the first chapter of this story! I asked you all to prove to me you wanted to read more and you did! Whoo! celebrates.**

**Okay I wanted to also point out a couple things in this story so that you guys wouldn't be puzzled during certain times while reading. Derek and Casey are going to be a bit OOC at times, for the given fact that the things they are going to be going through in this story are going to have them emotional, edgy, confused, and upset immensely. I still am trying to include that prideful Derek attitude and sensetive Casey we all know and love, but I did just want to give you a heads up that at times - they're going to be more puzzled and freaked out as well.  
Also someone had asked me if this is going to be a Dasey fic. I can't give you a straight answer on that yet - you will just kind of have to keep reading to find out! Seeing as the story isn't quite set up as a romance - you will however still get to read their feelings on each other as they go through these miserable events together - but if it leans in any direction as far as romance goes at all - then yes it will be Dasey. I wouldn't have it any other way. )**

**Another thing - PinkJelly () who is the one who said I should post it here (thanks, by the way! hugs) pointed out that my anonymous reviewers were disabled to leave reviews, so I got that fixed! So if you're reading and want to leave a review but couldn't before - you can now! I love to hear your thoughts as well!**

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the first, but if you guys continue to love and review this - I already have the next chapter written and it's much longer, and things start to get alot creepier in the next one! So make sure you let me know if you want to keep reading!**

**Without further ado, here is chapter 2!**

Disclaimer : I do not own LWD or any of the characters associated with the story.

_Stalking Casey_

_part two - Stuff Like That Gets Around_

* * *

Derek had managed to sneak out of Casey's room before she had returned from her shower the night before, so she'd never found out Derek had been talking to her so called 'secret admirer'. It had been plaguing him with thoughts of who could possibly have a crush on his step sister and know so much about her, but he had also decided he wasn't going to let it ruin his weekend.

It was the next afternoon and he had other things to be pissed about. Such as Casey's very quickly coming date with Max. He hated this. Watching her rush around, looking cute, getting ready to go out with some other guy. And someone he hated, to add. He had entertained the thought of calling Max and cancelling her date for her so she could stay home with him, and he wouldn't be so bored, but he knew he'd face the fire of a thousand suns if he did such a thing.

Before he knew it the doorbell was ringing and he heard Casey call out to him from upstairs. "Derek will you let Max in???!" her voice rang out.

Derek sighed and got up from his chair. "With much dismay, your highness." he mumbled sarcastically as he walked over and opened the door.

"Hey Derek what's up?" Max greeted him with that stupid smile of his.

Derek held back the urge to hurl, and motioned him inside. He walked back over to his recliner and slumped down into it.

Max raised an eyebrow as he observed Derek. He had failed to respond to him but he dismissed it. Derek seemed to always be in a bad mood lately. At least, everytime he came to pick Casey up for a date lately, he seemed gruff.

"Hello handsome!" Casey greeted as she walked into the living room.

Max turned and smiled at her, "Hello beautiful."

Derek once again held back the urge to puke.

"You ready?" Max asked, extending his hand for her.

"Yes." Casey said with a smile. She took his hand but turned to glance at Derek before he could usher her out the door. "See you later!"

Derek gave a half - assed wave in return, and before he knew it, the object of his attention had left with his worse enemy. He should have been used to it by now, but, for some reason, he never really could get himself to be. The least she could have done was tell her where she was going and what time she'd be back. He sighed, knowing his feelings wouldn't change matters and prepared for a boring evening alone.

Casey finally came home a little past 10, only to find Derek slumped in the exact same spot and position in his recliner. She gave him a strange look as he didn't even look up to acknowledge her return home, as she hung her coat up.

She walked over and sit in her usual position on the couch beside him.

"Um, hello to you too." Casey said, and he finally tore his gaze away from the tv.

"Oh, you, you're home. What's up?" Derek yawned as he greeted her with tired eyes.

"That's all I get?" She paused slightly and watched him shrug tiredly, "Derek have you even gotten up out of that chair all day?"

"Yeah. I do have to pee sometimes." Derek answered her back sarcastically.

Casey rolled her eyes. Such a typical Derek response. He had already turned his gaze back towards the tv, and she sighed loudly, causing him to look at her yet again, "What?"

"Aren't you even going to ask me about how my date went?" Casey replied with a question.

"Given the fact that I really don't care? No." Derek responded.

"What's wrong with you this evening?" Casey wondered, as she sunk into the couch a little.

"I've just got alot on my mind." Derek replied quickly, hoping he wouldn't be bombarded with 20 more questions.

"Well, maybe we can do something, like...play Scrabble! Or..or...Sorry! Or what about -"

"Casey!" Derek interrupted her, putting her to a stop. "Slow down okay, cause you're driving me crazy."

"Until I see you're mood change, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing." Casey answered him matter-of-factly. "Don't you have anything eventful that happened while I was gone?"

Derek shrugged, "The parental units called."

"Oh? Are they having fun?" Casey perked up a little that he finally had started a conversation.

"It's business. How could they?" Derek responded, watching Casey frown. "Oh, but they did mention that Lizzie and Edwin had already managed to sneak out of the hotel together and somehow during their attempt to be sneaky, Edwin ran into a bellhop and caused him to drop all his luggage."

Casey wanted to laugh, somehow it didn't surprise her. That was Edwin's luck after all. "Were they in trouble?"

"No, they decided not to ground them considering Lizzie already flamed Edwin enough for not watching where he was going. Said they felt sorry for him." Derek finished.

Casey nodded silently to herself. She had taught her sister well.

Derek, almost knowing exactly what Casey was thinking turned to her again, "And just to let you know I think it's unfair that Edwin and I have to suffer at the hands of you and Lizzie for trying to have fun."

"Please, if it weren't for us, you both would be in juvenile by now for your so called fun." Casey noticed his questioning glance and rolled her eyes again at him, "Whatever. So. Scrabble?"

"Scrabble it is." Derek responded, watching her get up and dash up the stairs.

It was kind of cute. The smallest things excited her.

Casey decided to drop her purse off in her bedroom before visiting the games closet, and noticed an IM was popped up on her screen. She walked over to read it, hoping it was Emily or Kendra, but discovered it was the mysterious person that had been talking to her yesterday.

Figuring she had a few minutes before Derek would come look for her, she sat down to read it.

'You call what you and Max went on a date? Please tell me you didn't have fun.'

Her stomach dropped, and she swallowed hard. Though, she had no idea why she was nervous, she just was. This person ... how did they know she and Max had went on a date? And how did this person know where and what they did? Though, she figured a picnic at the park wasn't really secretive. There were plenty of people who had been there besides them. Just...know one she knew. Or that she had seen she knew.

'It wasn't bad.'

'What I don't understand is how you can just lay there and talk to him for hours. Bor-ing.'

Casey blinked a few times. So that was a little creepy. Still not enough to freak out, but think none the less.

'Yeah well, I've gotta go.'

'Oh yeah, you're with Derek now. And we all know how he must have 100 of the attention.'

Casey signed off quicker than ever. This was ridiculous. Her getting panicked over probably nothing. Maybe this person had just coincidentally been at the park and seen her there with Max. And they obviously knew who Derek was. Anybody who was anybody at the school would know that. So she ignored the nervous feeling she had and left her room, walking towards the games closet.

Derek had moved the coffee table out of the way to make room for them to play on the floor when Casey came bounding back into the room.

"What took you? I had to move the table all by myself because of your slow ass." Derek complained as soon as she was in earshot.

Casey sighed, "What's the matter? The big bad table too much for you to handle?"

Derek glared at her, as she sat down on the floor across from him and placed the box in between them. In all reality, he hated this game. But if it would get Casey to stop pestering him he was all for it. Something about her gaze right now seemed off.

"Are you, alright?" Derek shot the question towards her, watching her empty the box and start setting up the game.

"Yeah. Just ready to beat you at Scrabble, Venturi." Casey replied, adding a smile to it so he'd be convinced.

Truth was, she was still a little uneasy about her IM conversation.

Derek half grunted, half laughed in response to her, and the game began.

Time flew by, along with the rest of the weekend, and before they knew it, it was Monday morning. Time for school again. Casey hadn't spoken with the mysterious guy on messenger anymore that weekend, and figured that maybe someone at the school got bored and decided to have a laugh. Either way, she couldn't let the thoughts of what happened on the weekend affect her school work by any means. Sure, part of her wanted to be on the look out for anyone who might strike her as odd. In a school full of students? There were so many possibilities. It would get her nowhere, so she decided to forget about it.

Derek however, had a completely different view on the matter. He was going to be on the lookout. Anyone who so much as glanced at Casey funny was going to get threatened. As he entered through the double doors of the school, it began. He wore a glare on his face, and not so much as even a 'sup' was uttered to any of the girls he passed by. He went straight to his locker. He could hear Casey's distinct voice from down the hall, talking to who he assumed was Emily. He could pick her voice out of anywhere. He glanced over and noticed that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Hey man." Sam greeted him, walking up to Derek, backpack on his shoulders.

"Hey what's up Sam." Derek replied, pulling a text book out of his locker.

"Did you have a good weekend? I know you said you and Casey were going to be home alone for the weekend and that you dreaded it." Sam remarked, hoping to get some good stories out of him.

"It was actually pretty uneventful." Derek said, slamming his locker shut, "What about your weekend?"

"Oh it was the same. Went out of town to my grandma's house." Sam told, sighing right after, "And yes before you ask, the one with the farm."

Derek smirked, "Churn any butter?"

"Very funny." Sam replied, joining at Derek's side as they were walking down the hall, "Where's Ralph?"

"I saw him on my way in. The principal was scolding him for banging on lockers with his drumsticks again. Probably had to go to the office." Derek answered, before narrowing his eyes at Casey again. Max had now joined the scene with her and Emily. Great.

The bell rang, and he silently thanked the good Lord above that he didn't have to deal with watching the affection display that he was sure would have taken place. As him and Sam shuffled into the classroom, Casey and Max followed in behind them, and gasped when someone rushed in after them. Casey turned around to see Ralph hunched over, grasping his knees, trying to catch his breath. He had made it before the tardy bell rang. Thank God. He couldn't afford any more trouble. He glanced up and apologized to Casey and Max for almost mowing them down and took a seat beside Sam, behind Derek. Casey took her normal seat in front of Derek, and Max took his beside Casey.

Casey sighed. She was surrounded by morons, minus Max. Unfortunately, Emily, Kendra, Sheldon and Noel, the only other civilized boy in the school had a different class as she did. So she sighed and sat back against her seat. It was always hard for her to get into focus during her first class of the day. Not only did she receive text after text from Emily about how boring her class was going, but she was constantly having to turn around and tell the entire band of D-Rock to leave her and Max alone. Especially the lead guitarist.

However, it wouldn't take her long to get into the zone. She was a pro at this point at keeping her mind on school work, and not the idiot that sat behind her. Or idiots, she should say. Sam - he wasn't so bad. But get him around Ralph and Derek and he was just another one of the rambunctious boys. She closed her eyes and prayed silently that this class would be over soon.

Before she knew it, it was lunch time. She had an appointment with Paul but she wanted to drop off her school books first. When she opened her locker, a small piece of paper fluttered out, and she threw her books in the locker, and reached down to pick it up.

'Probably a cute note from Max.' she thought, as she unfolded it, and began scanning it with her eyes.

The smile disappeared from her features, and her eyes adjusted to a look of uneasiness. She couldn't believe it. Every attempt she made to brush this note aside was overruled almost immediately, and she clutched her stomach to try and calm her nerves. She knew her appointment with Paul was much needed, but after reading this note, there was only one person she wanted to see.

Derek sat with Sam and Ralph, laughing about some lame joke they were exchanging, when Casey flung her purse onto the table beside him, causing him to glance up at her, "Oh God, what do you want?"

"Derek, do you think this is funny?" Casey glared down at him, her stare piercing through his.

"Well I don't know what you're talking about yet." Derek replied, "But just to let you know, I probably will think it's funny, yeah."

Casey rolled her eyes as Sam and Ralph watched on in bewilderment. She slapped the note down on the table in front of Derek and he gave her a strange glance. She folded her arms and nodded her head slightly, motioning for him to hurry up and read it. So, Derek sighed, and opened up the note, his eyes scanning it. He glanced back up at her after reading it, clearly noticing that her face was more panicked than anything. He knew he had to say something to at least calm her. So he scooted over, and patted the bench, motioning for her to sit down.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, clearly confused as to why two of his friends just acted completely out of the ordinary.

"Yeah, way to leave us in the dark, D." Ralph piped in, watching Derek shift uncomfortably in his seat.

Derek shared a glance with Casey before sliding the note across the table for them to read, "What do you guys make of this?"

Casey, even though she somehow felt a little safer sitting with the boys, was still completely uncomfortable, as her eyes scanned the lunchroom.

"Well to me it seems like someone's trying to creep you out." Sam replied, before passing the note to Ralph, "Do you recognize the handwriting at all?"

Casey shook her head, "No. . .and it's really weird, I thought this was only going to be a weekend prank." She glanced at Derek again.

"It's going to be fine Case. Just some dumbass poking fun." Derek replied, "I doubt you should even have a reason to be creeped out. It's probably some loser with braces and straight A's who got bored."

"Yeah, I'm with D." Ralph had finished reading the note and glanced over at her, "Dude's probably never been laid, and makes paper card houses for a living."

Ralph added a big goofy grin to his statement, and glanced back and forth at Sam and Derek. But when he noticed their glares towards his direction, he frowned, "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."

"No Ralph, thanks for that." Casey said, standing up, with a forced smile on her face. "I gotta go see Paul."

"Casey wait." Derek said, grabbing a hold of her arm gently before she could walk away, "You probably shouldn't tell Paul about this."

"Why not?" Casey asked, shooting him a glare, "I tell Paul everything!"

"Yeah but this is different than one of your, girly emotional problems." Derek replied, earning him a questioning glance. He could tell an argument was about to start, so for the sake of sparing that situation, he quickly continued before she could, "Look, give me another couple days or so. The guys and I will figure this out ourselves and settle it before it gets anymore out of hand. Then you won't have to deal with getting the principal's and whoever else would probably be involved."

Casey sighed, and glanced over at Sam, who nodded, then at Ralph, who was giving her a thumbs up. She sighed again. "Alright fine. Just…don't do anything stupid, like going around threatening people or getting yourselves in trouble."

With that, Casey turned around and walked out. She felt bad, she hadn't stopped to say hi to Kendra, Sheldon, Emily, or Max, but she had told them she'd had an appointment with Paul. So hopefully they wouldn't think much of her stopping in to talk to Derek for a moment. If they'd even seen her.

Although she was nervous, something about the boys watching out for her was calming. She knew nothing truly bad would happen with them around. Then again, how could she assume anything bad was going to happen at all? All that happened was she had gotten a note. A…strange one, but it was still just a note.

She shrugged it off and mentally scanned over her talk with Paul about learning to juggle her now busy schedule and channeling the stress of that, all the while keeping her sanity, when she rounded the corner of the empty hallway and bumped into someone.

"Oh, gosh I'm sorry-" Casey began, before glancing over at who it was.

"It's fine Casey." Came the reply of Noel, who had reached out to steady her by the shoulders.

They shared a glance for a moment, before Noel piped up again, "Guess you still live up to your old nickname sometimes huh, Klutzilla? Isn't that it?"

"Oh," Casey replied, beginning to nervously laugh, "Yeah, thank God I'm not as bad as I…" she paused for a moment as a strange thought plagued her. "Wait. That wasn't funny, and…how did you know that? You didn't attend this school during that phase."

Noel smiled at her, "Sorry I didn't mean to offend you or anything. But you know, stuff like that gets around. Even years after it happens. I overheard someone talking about it in the hall once." He looked down at his feet, then back up at her again, still smiling.

"Oh, right." Casey replied, attempting to return the smile. After another awkward moment, she gave him a slight wave, "Well, I gotta go. I'm late. See you around." She scurried off quickly.

Noel watched her disappear into the guidance counselor's office before letting out a long sigh, and continuing his way to the lunchroom.


	3. The Process Of Elimination

**AN : Sorry about the long awaited chapter release. I've been working like crazy at my job leaving me barely any time to even visit my own forum. sigh Anyways though! I want to thank everyone for your awesome reviews and patience. Without further ado - here is chapter 3!**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_Part Three - The Process Of Elimination_

* * *

"I hope you don't have any plans this evening." Derek walked into Casey's room without knocking, which wasn't unusual anymore, "Because we've both got some serious thinking to do."

"You? Thinking?" Casey spun around in her computer chair and glanced at him with a smile, "Are you sure you want to risk straining yourself?"

Derek glared at her as he sat on the end of her bed, "Very funny."

"What's this about anyways, cause I did have evening plans with Max." Casey told, as she watched him roll her eyes.

Derek pointed a finger at her, "Well you're going to have to cancel. This is much more important."

Casey gasped in a humorous manner, "What could be more important than Max?"

Derek gave her a look that clearly showed he wanted to erupt into laughter, however, this was a business matter, not a circus, "Plenty of things, but, if you want specifics, finding your secret admirer."

Casey's smile turned into a frown and she slumped down in the seat, "How are we supposed to find a secret admirer? Don't they usually remain secret?"

Derek glanced at the ceiling for a second as if contemplating this in his head before waving her off. "Yeah but this is different."

Casey sighed, pondering how her case could be any different from anyone elses. "Derek, I'm not so sure we should do this. I mean, it is just a secret admirer. Maybe we shouldn't try and figure it out. Maybe we're jumping to conclusions." Casey paused for a minute before shooting him an accusing glare, "Wait this was your idea. Maybe you're jumping to conclusions."

"Casey, Casey, Casey..." Derek sighed and scooted close enough to where he could reach out and take her by the shoulders, "It's causing you discomfort. So I just think it might be a good idea to figure out whose doing it and have a talk with them about it." He paused for a second before adding, "Plus, you're discomfort adds annoyance to my life and the things I need to get done."

Derek couldn't wait to figure it out. He was going to beat this person senseless. And his reason wasn't for any that he'd stated above. Besides the fact that they were causing her discomfort. This person was messing with his Casey. That was inexcusable.

Casey thought about this for a quick second before giving a silent nod, "Alright, just..." she paused before deciding there would be no use in an explination. "Okay."

"That a girl." Derek said, releasing her shoulders and sitting back on her bed again, "Now...where to start?"

"Well..." Casey began, "I could just make a list of people I know. Even slightly. We could try and make something of that."

Derek shrugged, "Yeah that's good, we can do a ... a... um. Whatever you call it."

Casey raised an eyebrow at him, "Process of elimination?"

"Yeah that." Derek replied quickly.

Casey rolled her eyes, and spun around in her chair, pulling out her notepad and pen.

She began scribbling names down - and her and Derek started off what ended up being hour long processes.

They'd had a couple interruptions. One was the parents. George had gotten offered a great business deal that would boost his stats at the firm. So they were going to be staying where they were through until after the upcoming weekend. Nora had gotten on the phone and it had taken both Derek and Casey to reassure her that everything was fine, and they would be fine for another week. That it would be over before she knew it. Nora had also told them that she was going to have money wired to them and that she'd already called Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti's teachers to let them know to have make up work ready for them when they returned.

Derek thought it to be extremely strange that Nora actually agreed to stay away for so long. But it did give them more time to sort out Casey's mess. Maybe time was working on their side. And to Derek, that was a first.

Derek sighed, and glanced over at Casey with an expression that clearly read 'help me'.

Casey shrugged with a 'I don't know what to do' expression back, and watched as his gaze was torn from her, and his focus was back on the phone.

"Nora, I promise we will be alright." Derek sighed into the phone, "If we need anything at all you know that we're going to call you."

Casey almost wanted to laugh as she heard her mother still going on and on faintly from the phone. Not to mention Derek's expressions during this phone call so far had been priceless.

"If you don't calm down, I'm going to take Casey to this wild party I heard about tonight. Lots of beer and males looking for soulmates." Derek threatened lightly.

He held the phone away from his ear and squinted his eyes as a piercing, muffled yell sounded out from the other end.

Casey shook her head with a smile, and motioned to him that she was going downstairs to get a drink.

"Hey! Get me a soda." Derek whispered.

"Derek!" a muffled yell came from the phone and he brought it back to his ear quickly.

"What? No!" Derek replied, "What kind of person do you think I am Nora?"

Casey was halfway out of her room, listening to the fading conversation.

"I wouldn't do...well...now that you might need to be worried about." his voice had paused. "Kidding!"

Casey shook her head again as she began to walk down the stairs. Now Derek was just enjoying himself. At the rate he was going, they'd be talking to her mom all night.

She walked into the kitchen, and headed towards the fridge. The sound of the neighbor's barking dog flooded the silence. She pulled out two soda's from the fridge, and debated whether to keep them in the cans or pour them in glasses. Then her thoughts had drifted to the conversation she and Max had over the phone when she cancelled their evening plans.

_"Well is something wrong? It's not like you to cancel." Max said, sounding a bit discouraged at the news._

_"No it's nothing. Derek and I are just working on something we got partnered up for today. Given the fact that it's Derek, I don't want to waste anytime getting it done. I'll be lucky to have it finished on time." Casey had answered back._

She felt bad. It's not like she'd been lying, but she didn't exactly tell him the truth. And for some reason she felt like she shouldn't. Ralph and Sam had already been included, and it was only a matter of time before she talked to Emily about it also. She didn't want to involve everyone. If it turned out to be a joke, only a few people had the right to laugh. And if it really was some secret admirer? She didn't want to give Max anything else to be discouraged for.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the note that was in her locker today. Unfolding it, she glanced at the words for what was probably the hundreth time.

**'I ALWAYS GET WHAT I WANT.'**

In all honesty? She thought Derek had pulled another one of his pranks. After all, it was just like him to say something like that. However, when she had gone to the lunchroom today, and he had genuinely asked her what she was talking about? She knew it couldn't have been him. He would have laughed as soon as she'd said 'You think this is funny?'

The dog barking again tore her away from her thoughts, and it was almost perfect timing, as she heard a loud sigh and the sound of Derek coming down the stairs.

He walked into the kitchen and placed the phone on the counter, "You're mom..." he shook a finger at her, "She's something else."

Casey smiled, "How did you finally manage to get off the phone?"

Derek shrugged, "Told her we'd call her tomorrow and didn't give her a chance to respond."

"You hung up on my mom?" Casey gasped, glaring over at him.

Derek glared back, "Oh don't you dare try and make me feel bad. You would have done the same thing if you'd dealt with 20 minutes of, " he paused and put on his best 'Panicked Nora' voice, " 'Derek promise me you guys are alright with this', and 'Derek, you're not lying about this being alright with you, are you?' "

Casey tried not to laugh again. It had been quite a funny situation, in all truth.

"Yeah." Derek countered to her silence, "That's what I thought."

He walked around to her side of the counter and grabbed his soda off the end of it, pausing to listen to the wails of the barking dog for a moment, "Emily's cat must be in heat again." he opened the soda and took a drink, "You remember last year? The strays were all over the back yards and that dog never did get lucky enough to maul one of them."

Casey nodded at the memory. It had been quite a season. The dog had barked continuously for a week straight because of all the strays. They'd been all over their back yard too. George and Edwin had attempted to run them off, until Derek caught wind of the action and decided to take matters into his own hands, right alongside his hockey stick. The cats had avoided their yard since then. But..new year, new seasn, new cats. They'd have to learn the same lesson, she supposed.

Derek watched Casey in silence for a minute, and could tell she was clearly in thought. He also noticed she was gripping the locker note in her hand, and proceeded to take it from her.

He glanced over it again, and shook his head, before crumpling it up and tossing it in the kitchen trash. He grunted, "I always get what I want." he commented, "What a jackass."

"That's what I was thinking." Casey replied, turning to glance at him as she opened her soda, "Sounds like something you'd say."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "The only difference though, is for me it's true. This person obviously doesn't know what they're talking about."

"If you say so, Scrappy." she replied, taking a drink of her soda.

Derek smirked, "It's about time you accepted me for who I am."

Casey rolled her eyes before pausing a moment in realization, "The dog stopped barking."

Derek listened for a moment before shrugging, "Guess he finally got his jaws on some cashew kitty."

Casey shook her head, smiling slightly as the two of them left the kitchen and headed back to her room. They still had to go over the list.

After bathroom breaks, they were sitting in her room. Casey had joined him on the bed as they sat side by side going down the list.

"Tinker. Good one." Derek said, stopping to think for a moment, "Though he doesn't seem like the type that's capable of pulling something like this off. His crush for you has been extremely obvious though, so we'll keep him on the list."

His eyes scanned down to the next name. "Trevor?" he gave her a questioning glance, "Casey he transferred over a year ago."

Casey shrugged, "You told me to list everyone I knew even slightly." she paused then, "Though, he did always like Emily. And he was cool."

"Yeah, too cool to resort to a mind game like this." Derek agreed with her, "I think he's in the clear."

"Yeah." Casey nodded along, watching Derek scratch the name off.

He then stopped and glared at her, "You put me on the list."

"Well...I figured if you weren't included you'd be offended." Casey defended herself, giving him a big smile.

"True." Derek responded, "But obviously it's not me, so." he crossed his own name off the list and moved on to the next one. "Sheldon."

Casey immediately gave a reason for this, "I know that's far-fetched, but like you said before, list-"

"Everyone. Yeah I got it." Derek replied, starting to cross his name off, but then stopping himself, "You know, he did act like he liked you for a short while." He glanced at her, giving her a 'matter-of-fact' expression.

Casey's face faulted into a 'duh' expression, "Derek, he's happy in his relationship with Emily. Besides, she wouldn't even give him a chance to be shady or sneaky. They're always together."

Derek gave one nod, and crossed Sheldon's name off. "Okay, next is...Ralph." He turned to look at her again. "Okay when I told you to make a list, I mean also to be real about it."

Casey shrugged.

"You've been hit on by Ralph before. As a matter of fact, every girl has. He's far from selective, and I know he'd fail at being sneaky if he tried." Derek said, watching her contemplate what he was saying, and follow it with a nod.

"Yeah if I know anything about Ralph, it's that he's definately not sneaky enough for something like this." Casey replied.

Derek crossed Ralph's name off the list, and moved on to the next one.

"Sam."

"That one was hard for me to write down. Sam's not the type, but I was on a role." Casey explained. "Besides, we already dated. So I doubt he'd be doing this."

"On the contrary." Derek raised a finger, "He could want you back."

"But did you see the look on his face when he read the locker note? And the tone of his voice?" Casey reminded in question form, "They were signs of genuine concern and he seemed to really be bothered that it was happening to me. Plus he offered to help figure out who it was. So it couldn't be."

"Alright." Derek replied, crossing off Sam's name. He looked at the next name, "Ah, I think this might be our best bet yet."

"Who is it?" she looked at the list, then looked up at him, "Noel."

Derek nodded, "He's quiet, sneaky, shady, and...not to mention he has a crush on you."

Casey glared at him, "He does not have a crush on me."

Derek raised an eyebrow at her, "You really are dumb if you think that."

"But Noel is a nice guy!" Casey snapped in defense of him.

"Yeah well, he may be a nice guy, but so far he holds more qualities of being the guilty one than anyone else on the list has." Derek replied, "And how can you not know he has a crush on you? The guy drips with obviousness everytime he talks to you."

"I never notice." Casey told, trying to think of a time where she might have. None came to mind. "He's just a good friend. We talk about everything."

"Everything as in, so he probably knows everything about you." Derek said, putting a star by Noel's name, "Yeah, definately keeping him in mind."

"I think you're delusional." Casey replied, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh yeah?" Derek asked, looking over at her with bright eyes, "Well I bet you didn't know he's the one that sent you those flowers after the play several months back."

Casey's eyes shot over towards him quickly, "What? No he didn't. We don't know who sent them cause there was no..." she paused in realization, "...note."

Derek shook his head, "There actually was. I read it."

Casey glared. Just like Derek to get in other people's business. Especially hers. "Well, why would he take the note off then?"

"Probably because he found out you and Max were an item." Derek responded with an 'all-knowingly' tone, "I mean, call me crazy if you want, but you never did mention Max to him. Poor kid found out by seeing Max show up backstage once the show was over."

Casey's jaw dropped open. Derek was right. "Oh my gosh..." she turned to him again, "So you think..."

Derek nodded and added another star beside Noel's name.

Casey was lost in thought again. Could it be? It was almost unimaginable for Noel to be the prime suspect, but what Derek said had made perfect sense, and the other scary part about it was that it was perfectly true. She hadn't talked about Max to Noel. And finally the mystery behind who sent the flowers was solved. But why didn't Derek tell her this before? Her thoughts were interrupted when Derek burst out laughing.

"Hahaha Paul. The shrink." Derek choked out.

Casey's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows slanted at him in a mean gaze.

He muffled his laughter, "Okay okay sorry." Derek's tone returned to normal, "I mean, they guy does know everything about you." He paused, "And I'm guessing he's not married."

Casey shrugged, "Well if he is, he's never mentioned it to me."

"Good call, Space Case." Derek replied, still trying not to laugh, "I don't know why it's funny to me, I mean, I guess he fits the profile just as well as Noel, it's just..." he almost started to laugh again, "...I don't know it's funny." He cleared his throat.

He read over some more of the list, noting that everyone else she had written down, she'd really only had 2 or 3 minute interactions with. Either that or they were bystanders. He noticed a few of them she had only talked to during her little 'Babe Raider' phase. Which had only lasted a day, but none the less, Derek would be confronting them in the morning.

He was about to conclude their 'process of elimination', when a thought struck him, "Casey?"

"Huh?" She responded, obviously still in thought about other things as well.

"You didn't put Max on this list." Derek pointed out.

Casey nodded, "Yeah I know."

"Okay but why?" Derek asked, folding his arms and just curious as hell to hear her excuse for this.

"Duh Derek, he's already my boyfriend." Casey answered.

He waited for her to say something else, but when nothing else came, he shook his head, "That's all you got?"

"Well...yeah, why would Max do something like this? We're already dating, there wouldn't be a reason for him to be doing this." Casey explained, bearing a puzzled expression as to why this was even an issue.

"Casey you really need to watch more movies." Derek replied, "Boyfriend figures hold almost more potential for doing something like this than anyone else."

Casey wasn't sure she'd heard him right. But she could have sworn he said boyfriends hold almost more potential for doing things like this than others. "Come again? And please explain in detail cause I don't follow." she made a few motions with her hands and ended it with a confused glance.

Derek sighed, hanging his head low for a moment, thinking of how to explain this to her. Of course she didn't understand. "Okay, have you ever watched the movie Scream?" Derek asked her, knowing full well it was a stupid question, and he got the expected reply. A 'of course not.'

"Okay, well, you've heard of husbands murdering their wives...boyfriends killing their girlfriends...?"

Casey felt the need to stop him there, "Derek! Scream is a movie! And those other cases involved murder. My case involves a secret admirer. Nothing close to that."

"That still doesn't justify him to be innocent. You have to think outside the circle. Everyone is a suspect. Then you do process of elimination, just like we are now. Then you come up with reasons why the names left on the list still are. You didn't even write Max down. But boyfriends are known to do this to their girlfriends to scaring them into committing more. They'll play the game for a little while, and if after the time is up they don't see the results they want? They result to worse things, like murder."

Casey took in all the information and shook her head, "That's nonsense Derek. Max doesn't have those kinds of intentions."

"Let me ask you something personal." Derek countered her statement.

'Oh great.' Casey thought. She could only imagine. "Not that I know why you feel it's neccissary, but go on."

"Have you slept with the guy yet?" Derek asked bluntly.

Casey narrowed her eyes, but still wore the same confused look on her face. "N-no." she paused as she watched him raise an eyebrow, "But he understands."

"Sure he does." Derek said, not buying her bullshit excuse at all. "When a girl is scared by something, naturally it causes her to run into the arms of her significant other. You with me so far?"

She nodded, and he continued.

"If you're scared enough, it actually means more than anything you'll be driven into his arms for comfort. Thus resulting in comfort sex." Derek kept on, watching her expressions go through mixtures of emotion, "If you haven't slept with him yet, and all guys want one thing? Do the math."

"Derek that's crazy talk! I told you Max understands!" Casey defended angrily.

"Hey, I'm not saying you have to put him on there." Derek replied, holding up his hands, "I'm just saying I think it's smart to not completely rule him out yet."

"Well..." Casey huffed and folded her arms, "I think you're wrong about him."

"I could be." Derek said, his tone becoming serious, "But we live in a crazy world, Case. Even the people you think you know best can turn out to be strangers."

Casey glared at him again and was about to respond when the doorbell rang. She glanced over at the clock. Wow. They had been talking for another hour already. Derek got up and headed downstairs, with Casey following after her. She hoped it would be Emily, but when Derek opened the door, they seen their neighbor from the other side standing there.

They never did see much of their other neighbors, but they had seen the young woman around from time to time. When she'd be leaving for work, or coming home from the store.

"Hi." Derek greeted her, as Casey joined his side with a smile on her face, "What's up?"

"I'm really sorry to bother you both." she began, "I'm your neighbor from next door here." She pointed to the house next door, and they both nodded, "Um, I was wondering if you'd maybe seen my dog running around, if you've been outside or anything?"

Derek raised an eyebrow, "We haven't been outside or anything and haven't seen it. We heard it barking a little earlier."

The neighbor nodded, "Yeah she was being quite the noisemaker earlier. I went out to check on her about 20 minutes ago though and she wasn't in the yard. I'm thinking she may have jumped the fence. Though she's so well behaved, I've never had a problem with that before, I guess there's a first time for everything."

Casey tried to give the girl a warming smile. Though, she would be upset and concerned if she'd had a dog that went missing too. "We'll definately keep a lookout." she tried to give her some reassurance.

The neighbor nodded, "Thank you so much." she turned to leave, but added a "Sorry again to bother you." before she began walking away.

"It's no bother. Thanks for giving us a heads up." Derek replied, shutting the door.

He turned to Casey with a smirk, "My guess is the dog said, screw being restricted. I'm going to get those damn cats."

Casey huffed, "You just think you know everything don't you?"

"Have you not learned yet that I do know everything?" Derek countered, as they both headed back up to her room.

"Please, Derek. Tell me another lie." Casey decided to milk this for all it was worth.

"You know I could if I really wanted to." Derek replied, "But I lie with planning. Not really good when asked spur of the moment. I mean, you remember the whole fiasco about Bob."

Casey nodded in acknowledgment. That hadn't been Derek's best work. At least not when the teacher had showed up at their house. Or, as Derek had put it, the lie had 'been brought home.'

They sat back down on her bed to conclude the process of elimination session.

"Okay so," Derek began, "We have Tinker, Noel, Paul..." he then glanced at her, "And you may not rule Max as a suspect in your mind, but he certaintly is in mine."

Casey rolled her eyes. She knew the reason why Derek wanted to nail Max for this was because he just didn't like him. Leave it up to him to bring a conflict of interest into the situation.

"You've got some other not so significant guys listed, but I'll interrogate them myself tomorrow." Derek kept on, "We need a plan."

"A plan?" Casey asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah. A plan to narrow the list down to just one person." Derek continued, "The only way to do that is to talk to each of these people to see if they say anything suspicious."

"Well...I have an appointment with Paul tomorrow. What should I say?" Casey asked.

Derek pondered for a moment, "Definately nothing suspicious to get you questioned in return." he glanced at her, "I don't know, you girls are good at being coniving and scheming, you'll think of something."

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you said that, because I know that argument would be disastrous." Casey said in a mono-tone manner. She knew all too well that was a can of worms left unopened.

"You don't have any classes with Tinker anymore do you?" Derek questioned.

Casey shook her head, "Not since semester. I usually see him in the hall though after lunch."

Derek shook his head, "No. I have 3rd period with him. So I'll talk to him." he paused and read down the list again, "That leaves Noel."

Casey sighed, "I really think leaving Noel on the list is a mistake." she said, "I mean, I talked to him today and everything was fine."

Derek's eyes widened a little more than they already were, "You talked to Noel today?"

Casey swallowed hard and gave him a nod. Thinking about the conversation, something had seemed strange about Noel. He acted a little nervous towards her. And there was awkward silence. That never happened.

Derek caught onto her expressions as she recalled the conversation and smirked, "It wasn't fine. Was it?"

Casey gave him a confused look, "Honestly, I don't know."

Derek nodded, "I see." he paused for a moment, "Well, I think I'll talk to him tomorrow then."

"No you can't!" Casey snapped quickly, causing Derek to look at her in an alarmed manner, "I mean...let me."

"Case, he's already acted odd towards you. It's my turn." Derek replied.

Casey sighed, "Fine..." she then glared, "Don't you dare be mean to him though Derek Venturi!"

"You have my word." Derek replied, reaching over and sitting the notepad on her computer desk.

He stood up, "We made progress. That's good. Now we just see how tomorrow turns out, and we'll have our secret admirer!" he thought about what he'd said and turned to her to re-phrase it, "Well...I mean, your secret admirer."

"Right." Casey nodded, suddenly feeling nervous about the entire situation. She didn't want to think that any of the people she'd listed would do something to her. And she doubted they actually would. But this was a start.

"I'm jumping in the shower, be out in a few." Derek informed, vacating the room and disappearing into the bathroom.

Casey sighed, beginning to have that nervous gut feeling come back. She went over to her computer, and signed onto her messenger, hoping Emily was on. Of course, she wasn't. She never really was anymore. However, an IM did pop up on her screen.

'Hey pretty girl.'

Casey held her breath for a moment.

'Hi, I need to talk to you.'

This actually could work in her benefit. Maybe she could have a good, old fashioned talk with this person and settle it now. Then maybe she wouldn't even have to question it being any of her friends.

'Sure.'

She contemplated on what her exact words should be, but decided there really would be no right or wrong way to have the conversation.

'I really just want to know who you are.'

'Why?'

'Well...no offense but my brother is about to threaten half the population of the school tomorrow.'

'Ha.ha.'

'If you know anything about him, you'll know it's not a joke. He's taking this seriously. Not to mention I'm a little nervous.'

'You got my note huh?'

'Yes.'

'What about what else I left you?'

Casey's eyes widened a little.

'What?'

'I left you something else. You didn't find it?'

'Uh..no. Should I have?'

'Ah. No worries. Just go check your mailbox.'

'Another letter?'

'It's a surprise.'

Casey sat back in her seat a little. A surprise? She didn't know if she should check the mailbox or not. Something told her she should be fearful. But more than likely it was another letter. Maybe, just maybe, he'd revealed his identity in it. With newfound confidence, and a convinced mind that that's probably what it was, she stood up from her computer chair and turned to exit her room.

She heard that Derek's shower water was still running. No use disturbing him for another letter. She'd show it to him when he was out. She prayed silently that she could greet him with a 'He came clean!' when he got out. She grabbed her hoodie off the coat hanger by the door, before opening it up. She looked out at the mailbox, and was suddenly nervous all over again.

"Get yourself together Casey." she told herself, as she walked out and closed the door behind her.

She glanced around at her surroundings. It was dark outside, and everything was so quiet. Guess the dog still hadn't come back. She walked to the end of the drive and stood outside the mailbox. She reached up to open it but her nervousness stung her so bad she dropped her arm back to her side. She took a deep breath, and the thought of her admirer's letter and how he was coming clean ran through her mind again. She smiled to herself, in a doubtful reassurance that there was nothing to be afraid of, and reached up again. She opened the mailbox. And her scream was heard all over the block.

A couple hours later, a couple police cars were parked in their driveway, and Derek had his arm around Casey's shoulder, trying to provide her as much comfort as possible. The neighbor was standing not too far away, in tears, talking to an officer.

Derek and Casey were being questioned as well, but they weren't really paying attention. Derek was too concerned about Casey's state of mind, and Casey was too concerned about the neighbor.

It was tragic. One of the worst things Casey had ever seen. A dead dog. In the mailbox.

What kind of freak would do such a thing? The neighbor had been crying since she'd run over, responding to Casey's scream. Greatfully, the neighbor knew that Casey and Derek hadn't been the ones to do it, given the fact that they seemed just as shaken up by the situation as she was.

"Hello? Anybody there?" the police officer standing with Casey and Derek waved his hand in front of their faces to get their attention.

"Oh, sorry." Casey said quietly, facing the officer again.

Derek sighed and looked at him as well, hoping this would be over with soon.

"Do you guys have any idea who would do something like this?" the officer asked them, as he readied his notepad and pen for anything they might have to help him out.

Derek shook his head, "No."

"Don't have any enemies? Any friends that like to pull pranks on you guys?" the officer continued to question.

Casey felt convicted to tell him what was going on, and glanced at Derek. He gazed right back at her, and it was evident what that gaze said. Casey turned back towards the officer and shook her head quietly.

"I see." the officer replied, rubbing his temple with his free hand. He pulled out a small card and scribbled something down on it. He then extended it out towards Derek. "If you guys do experience anything else. If you have any questions, or come across anything that might help us figure out who did this, call."

Derek took the card out of his hand, and nodded, "Will do."

Casey was upset. Why was Derek wanting to keep this such a secret? So far she'd recieved some kind of crazy threat note, and now the neighbor's dead dog showed up in their mailbox?

The officer sighed, "Thank you for your time. And as far as I'm concerned, there's no real case here anyway. Just probably some drunk kids having some fun." he reached out and patted Derek's shoulder, "No use losing sleep over this." he then turned to walk away, extending a hand, "Have a goodnight."

The two of them watched him converse with another police officer. They nodded to each other and began waving off some of the other bystanders who had come to see what the scream was about.

Derek turned to Casey, and took her by the shoulders, "Casey, listen to me." he paused to note there was a look of sheer terror and confusion on her face, and he was going to do everything he could to make that go away, "I'm going to find out who did this. Don't worry. It's just some sick joke that a sicko like him thought was funny."

Casey was doing her best to nod along. To let him make her feel better about the night's event. But she couldn't shake the sight from her head. The gory, dripping, dead dog would haunt her tonight, that was for sure.

"Casey!" came a voice from behind them.

They both turned around to see Emily running towards them as fast as she could. Derek backed up from Casey and Emily dove into her best friend's arms. "I came as quick as I could." she broke the hug to look at her, "I was with Sheldon, but my parents called me and told me that they heard you scream, and the police showed up."

Casey nodded, finding some comfort with her best friend. It was great. She really needed Emily right now.

"What happened? I heard something about a dead dog." Emily questioned, not knowing whether or not Casey would want to discuss it or not, but she figured it was worth a shot to ask.

Casey gave Derek a glance again, before shaking her head, "That's just it Em, I don't know what happened." Casey paused, thinking of the best way to tell Emily the truth, but not the whole truth so help her God. "I forgot to check the mail today and when I came out to check it, it was just in there." Casey teared up as she reminisced the traumatizing experience. "I feel so bad." she turned and motioned towards the neighbor, "I mean, she just lost her dog brutally. Who would do something like this?"

Emily pulled Casey into another hug, "No, no, Casey. First of all this is not your fault." Emily reassured her, breaking the hug but still holding onto her hands, "You can't take any responsibility for this. Some idiots thought it was funny, you had no idea."

"I know." Casey replied quietly.

Derek's heart was breaking for Casey. Thank God Emily was there. It was a blessing that she'd showed up, because he could tell his attempts alone were not comforting Casey. He had just turned the shower off when he'd heard her scream, all the way from outside at the mailbox. He'd gotten dressed as fast as he could and raced out there to find her crouched on the ground, holding a hand over her mouth, her eyes squeezed shut in a mixture of fright and tears.

_"Casey! What..." _

That was all he had managed to get out before his eyes had caught sight of the dog. He had muttered a 'holy shit' after that, and raced inside to call the police. They had mostly shared silence after that when they were waiting for the police to show up. While the neighbor was collapsed crying and they had no idea what to say to her. It had been bad. And it sure as hell wasn't going to help them sleep any better.

All Derek knew, was he was going to beat the living hell out of someone for this tomorrow. Now more than ever, he was determined to figure this out. It wasn't funny anymore.

After another 30 minutes of the police talking to the neighbor, them talking to Emily, and bystanders being waved off to their own homes, Casey and Derek were finally walking inside. Derek locked the door behind them, and watched Casey slowly slumping up the stairs. He could tell she was still in somewhat of a shock. And he couldn't blame her. "Casey?"

Casey stopped and slowly turned back to face him.

Derek's heart broke for her again, and he walked to stand by her on the stairs. "I am going to find this person. I promise."

Casey faked a smile and weakly nodded in assurance, though Derek knew that right now she doubted him. She turned and finshed the walk to her room, shutting the door behind her. She just wanted to be left alone, and salvage at least some fraction of a night that she was hoping to possibly sleep during.

She walked back over to her computer and slumped down in her chair. The IM was gone. The person had signed off. Thank God. She walked over to her vanity to take off her tear streaked make-up. After that she pulled out her journal and laid down on the bed to write all about the night. About halfway through her entry her IM sounded again. She didn't look up at the screen. She didn't rush over to read it. She felt her nervousness come back, and she knew now, what she didn't know before. She was scared. And she had a reason.

Reluctantly getting up, she took baby steps towards her computer, and set her eyes on the newest message.

'It wouldn't stop barking...I thought I was doing you a favor.'


	4. Ed As In Edwin?

**AN : First of all, I just have to say - the feedback that everyone gave me for chapter 3 was absolutely fantastic. And I'm very thankful for everyone's nice and kind words! I was actually going to wait it out and post this in a couple more days, but I couldn't do that to you all, you've been awesome. Just so you all know as well - I was so upset with myself for killing the dog. Lol. Anyways! So it seems you guys like the really creepy, so I promise to do my duty and write more of that in. This chapter will just be throwing in some more confusion for Casey and Derek both. After writing a dead dog in a mailbox scene I had to take a lighter road for this chapter sorry lol. So you're not going to find the same amount of creep here. This chapter is important though! So read onward! **

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part four – Ed As In Edwin??_

* * *

"Casey, I don't care what you say this time, I'm kicking someone's ass for this today." Derek stormed down the hall of the school, heading towards his locker.

He had been pissed from the moment he'd woken up. Neither of them had slept that well to begin with. When Derek was running on lack of sleep combined with all the other things that had happened yesterday? It sure made for one angry Derek.

"Derek you can't afford to get suspended!" Casey snapped at him, as she followed him closely down the hall. "And this may sound strange but I'd feel safer if you were in school with me! You get suspended and I'm gonna be here by myself with the psycho!"

They ignored all the by standers staring gazes as they finally came to Derek's locker, and he slung it open and began throwing things into it, and yanking things out of it. They weren't exactly being too quiet, so they were attracting some attention.

"Oh, I'm not going to get suspended Casey. Because I'm going to beat the shit out of this person so bad that they won't say anything unless they want it to happen again." Derek told her matter-of-factly.

Casey rolled her eyes in a disgusted manner at him, "Great Derek. Just great." she said beginning to walk off before turning back one more time and glaring at him, "And since you feel like doing things your own way now, I'm calling mom tonight and telling her everything! And I'm telling Emily, and Paul too!"

Now she was pissed. Leave it up to Derek to get her on edge. She stormed off towards her locker now, with Derek following her this time.

"Casey! You can't!" Derek commanded as they stopped at her locker.

She flung the door of it open and stared at him, "Oh? And why not?!"

"Because..." he began, but got lost in watching her shuffle things in and out of her locker in a very irritated manner. He shook out of his thoughts quickly when she slammed a book into the locker again, "Oh um because...because Casey! The more people who know about this, the harder it's going to be, the more suspects there will be, and the more miserable it will get for the both of us!"

She seemed to not be listening to him anymore, so he grabbed her by the shoulders gently, but firmly and forced her to look at him. "Listen to me. You know what happened last night? How do you think Lizzie and Marti would have felt about that? What about your mom? How would she have reacted?"

Casey sighed and looked at the floor for a minute, then nodded silently.

"It makes sense doesn't it?" Derek asked her, releasing her shoulders.

Casey nodded again, and looked up at him, "Yes but I still don't understand why we can't tell the police Derek! They're trained to handle things like this! It's their job!"

"The police are just another easy way to get everyone involved. I don't want anyone else to get hurt or tormented by whoever is doing this." Derek replied, "And trust me. People like this will hurt anyone they have to just to fulfill what they originally planned. People like this don't have a heart. They don't want to talk about it. They just want to get what they want."

Casey was upset again at him being so strict about the situation. It was her problem after all, not his. She was tired and just wanted to go to class, "Yeah well Derek. This person still sounds just like you." with that she turned on her heel and walked off, leaving Derek to stand there in silence.

He wasn't going to lie. Her words had just cut him to the bone. Now was not the time for them to be fighting either. He knew Casey was shaken and upset, but they had to stick together. If they couldn't do that much? Then this person would get what he wanted.

He sighed and headed to first period. He could only imagine how things were going to be with Casey being so upset with him. She'd been upset with him many times, but this was different. This was involving a serious situation, not a mere prank.

"Yo dude!" Sam greeted him outside the classroom doorway, "What's going on today? You look like someone who just watched their dog get hit by a car. Even though...you don't have one."

Derek's eyes shot up to gaze at Sam, and he almost felt like yelling at him for some reason. He couldn't jump to conclusions. And with Casey being mad, he was on his own. So he just shook his head at Sam, "Funny you should say that."

Sam raised an eyebrow with a puzzled expression as he watched his best friend enter into the classroom, and he followed. He glanced around and noticed that Casey was sitting in the opposite corner of where she usually sat. Max was beside her.

Derek had noticed it too. He also met the glare Casey shot him from her seat as he made his way to his usual spot. He just knew Casey was probably talking so much smack on him to Max now. And he probably knew everything. If he knew Casey, she probably already blabbed just to spite him. Well, he didn't care. He was going to talk to Max later about this if he never lived it down by the hands of her or not.

He sighed as he took his seat. Today was going to be a long day. Misery at its finest. And he was not looking forward to it at all.

First period did drag on forever. Derek had barely conversed with Sam or Ralph. Well, the main reason for not conversing with Ralph was because he'd gotten in trouble and sent to the principal's office. And he and Sam had talked a bit, just not as much as usual. He would glance over to see Casey gazing towards the front of the room during the teacher's lecture. He could tell she was struggling today to concentrate. In fact, he wasn't sure she was actually truly listening to what the teacher was saying. Thank God class would be over in 5.

As students shuffled through the hallways, Derek being one of him, he was set on finding someone in particular, and it wasn't hard to spot him, considering he had the loudest mouth in the school.

"Corey!" Derek shouted to get the boys attention.

Corey turned around to see Derek walking towards him. It seemed strange. Derek hadn't talked to him for a long time now. And he could tell by the way he was approaching that something important was on his mind. So he threw a smile out there, "Hey Derek, what's going o-"

Before Corey could finish his sentence Derek had thrown an arm around his shoulder.

"Corey, it's been a while eh?" Derek began, a strange tint to his voice. Just what was he getting at?

Corey swallowed hard, "Uh yeah. Yeah it has been quite a wh-"

"I assume you've moved past the stage of starting things that you will end up getting your ass beat for, right?" Derek interrupted him once again.

"Uh of course. Yeah." Corey said nervously, Have I done something wrong?"

Derek then realized that he might sound a little crazy and sighed before releasing Corey's shoulder and taking a couple steps back, "No you're cool. Forgive me for getting in your face like that." he rubbed his temples.

"It's cool. Just...don't scare me like that okay? I thought I was going to have a broken jaw for something I did years ago." Corey replied, now laughing nervously.

"No it's...its fine." Derek waved him off as he turned on his heel, "See you around man!"

Derek cursed himself silently after hearing Corey return a 'You too!' He didn't know what had come over him at that moment. After all, he told Casey he wouldn't get carried away with this. He was going to talk to the people he needed to talk to in a civilized manner. Maybe what fueled the fire was the fact that things weren't right between him and Casey at the moment, and after finding a dead dog in the mailbox...he had been on edge anyway. At least Corey could be crossed off the list. He was sure he had no part in it. After all, the kid looked scared as hell during their talk. And if he was the one guilty? He doubted his behavior would have been like that. He sighed and walked towards his locker, finding Sam and Ralph there.

"What's wrong with you today Derek? You are scaring me man." Sam greeted him, watching as he turned and leaned with his back against the lockers.

"I'm scaring myself, Sam." Derek replied, turning now to smack his head on the locker.

"Well why don't you tell me what the hell's going on?" Sam asked, in genuine concern for him.

"Cause I don't know what's wrong...I just..." Derek paused, and sighed before finally just giving in, "Alright. It's Casey."

"Casey? What happened now?" Sam asked, now even more curious as to why Derek had been acting out of whack.

Derek sighed, "Ralph, if you want to get in on this then - " he stopped after spinning around to see that Ralph was no longer standing there. Then he immediately noticed him across the hall a little ways down attempting to hit on a girl.

Derek rolled his eyes, knowing full well Ralph was going to strike out yet again, and turned back to face Sam. "Guess Ralph's gonna miss out on this convo."

Sam shook his head, "Yeah. Duty calls. You know." he stopped for a moment, before asking again, "Okay so tell me already what's going on."

Derek took a deep breath, "Okay, so...she's really upset with me."

"Why?" Sam kept asking questions. He really did want to know what was going on.

"Well...something happened again last night, and she's pissed because I told her not to get anyone else involved. Including the police." Derek answered, pretty much summing it up.

"Well Derek maybe she's right. Maybe the police should be involved. I mean, why not?" Sam decided to put his opinion in, "It might not stop unless they are."

"I'm sure they will be involved now Sam. Cause Casey's mad and going to do what she wants now, and there's nothing I'm going to be able to say or do to stop her." Derek snapped at him slightly. And when he seen the look on Sam's face, he immediately felt bad. There he went again. "Sorry man."

"It's alright D. I understand." Sam responded, "Come on, let's just go to class."

Derek nodded and they both headed towards their next class.

"Do I even want to know what happened last night?" Sam asked as they walked through the doorway.

Derek shook his head, "Probably not. No."

"Didn't think so." Sam responded, laughing a little.

And with that the bell to 2nd period rang.

As usual for Casey, before she knew it the lunch bell was ringing. And she was heading towards Paul's office. She ran over the plan in her head. 'Don't be suspicious in anything you ask Casey, and everything will be fine. You can do this.' She took a deep breath.

She felt like her day was all messed up. And it was. She hadn't hardly talked to Derek at all. And in all honesty, she had cooled off from earlier. She knew, and it was the only time she'd ever admit he was smarter than her at something. He knew about situations like this. And she had felt bad for treating him so harshly earlier, she just needed some time to think for herself, and to not have to think about the current situation. She wasn't mad at Derek. So that she knew she would have to apologize for. And maybe she should just trust the guy.

However, those thoughts were gonna have to wait until later, as she walked through the door to Paul's office.

"Casey! Nice to see you again." Paul greeted her, and she forced out a smile back at him.

As if he couldn't tell that smile had been completely fake. If she wanted this plan to work, she'd have to put her theatre/drama/acting skills to the test. Now more than ever.

"You too Paul." she said, this time bearing a much more real smile as she sat down in front of his desk, "I have so much on my mind today. I hope you're prepared to handle it."

Paul chuckled a little, "Let me guess. Does it have anything to do with Derek?"

Casey smiled again, "Of course, who else?"

Paul picked up his coffee mug, and waved her on, "You said it. So what's going on today with Derek?"

"Well, I got mad at him this morning because he said something stupid, and I've been ignoring him all day and I feel horrible for it!" Casey explained all at once.

"Uh huh, and why would you feel horrible for it?" Paul asked her next.

"I don't know, just because I guess I have no reason to really treat him that way?" Casey stated in the forum of a question.

"But if what he said was stupid...doesn't that give you the right to treat him horribly?" Paul tilted his head to the side and gave her the look that clearly said, 'I'm about to burst your bubble'.

"Usually yes, but ... the more I thought about it, I decided that he might be the one that was right this time. And maybe my actions were wrong towards him." she glanced up at him, "So I need to apologize don't I?"

"And maybe start giving Derek the benefit of the doubt sometimes. You know he may live to drive you crazy, but he cares about you." Paul informed her, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Are you kidding me Paul?" Casey replied, "Derek pretends to care, but he doesn't. He's only in it for him."

"Yeah. And that's totally why he came in here to rant about you for 10 minutes straight once." Paul told, however remembering Casey had no clue of this and quickly adding a, "But you didn't hear that from me."

Casey sighed, "You're at it again Paul." she seemed mopey for a minute but then glanced up at him, "Wait...did you say 'totally?' "

"No.." Paul answered quickly, before glancing at her with a desperate expression, "I mean...did I?"

"You did." Casey stated matter-of-factly.

"Well it looks like you are just as good at bursting bubbles today Casey." Paul joked with her, and she laughed in return.

Casey glanced at the clock on the wall, "Wow, I still have 10 minutes in here. But you already solved my problem! Guess we can just talk."

"Just talk? Usually after you get what you need, you rush off to fix the problem." Paul replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

Casey smiled nervously at him, "Oh yeah I know," she waved a hand towards him, "But I have Derek in next class anyway so it's all good."

"Well then," Paul sat back in his chair, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Oh I don't know." Casey said, "Seen any good movies lately?"

Paul laughed, "I don't usually go to the movies anymore. I like to read."

"Right." Casey followed his statement, "You know, I was exposed to this horrible movie Derek was watching the other day about a girl who was being stalked."

"Really now?" Paul asked, sitting back up in his seat, looking more attentive, "I read an excellent book just a couple months ago called 'How To Get Into The Mind Of A Stalker.'" He then paused before adding, "Very interesting stuff."

"Did you really find it interesting? I mean, isn't it scary…and I mean, a bit psycho how they act?" Casey answered quickly to his statement, feeling that nervous twang in her gut that she had been feeling all too often lately.

Paul chose to laugh again at her last statement, "No not at all." Paul replied, "To tell you the truth, I don't think they're psycho. I just think they're misunderstood. You know, no one really pays much attention to them until they do something crazy. Very intriguing stuff going on in the mind of a stalker."

"Uh, well…I…" Casey stuttered, noticing he was looking at her strangely as she struggled for words. She had to get into character again quickly, so she smiled. "I guess if I read the book I'd probably agree with you."

"Well you know I have it at home." Paul stated, "If you'd like to borrow it and read it, you're certainly welcome to."

Casey swallowed hard then nodded, "Yeah sure…I mean, maybe when I have more time. You know me I'm so busy lately."

"Right." Paul gave her another strange glance. What the hell was wrong with her all of a sudden? "Well just let me know. I have it sitting on my living room table."

"Really? Don't you think one of your kids getting a hold of that would be a bad thing?" Casey asked, thinking how perfect the time had been to slip in the 'family' subject.

Paul laughed again, "I don't have any kids Casey, I live alone."

"Oh!" Casey acted surprised, though her gut had been telling her all along that she wasn't going to like having this conversation with him, "I had no idea."

"It's quite alright," Paul replied, "But yeah, I've been on my own since last year when my wife and I went through a divorce."

"I see." Casey had a gaze locked on him, but was nervous as she grabbed her purse and put it over her shoulder. She was getting more and more nervous with every second that passed, and she didn't think she could sit there anymore, "Well you know I really should be going…I need to go to my locker before class." She said it so quickly and had shot up out of the chair so fast, that Paul couldn't help but watch her with that once again strange look on his face.

"Okay see you tomorrow…" Paul trailed off, watching as she flew out his door.

Casey rushed to her locker. Though she wasn't sure why she was rushing anymore. She was safely evacuated from Paul's office. She was really starting to hate having that nervous feeling all the time. Maybe she should start listening to it more often. She would have never opened that mailbox last night had she just paid attention to how she really felt.

In all actuality, though Paul fit the profile, it was still so strange for her to think he could be a part of anything like this. He was a guidance counselor for God's sakes. How could he possibly be capable? Then again, he knew a whole lot about a whole lot of people. His job consisted of knowing people, and knowing everything about them. Including her. She decided to stop jumping to her own conclusions, and wait to see what Derek might say.

"Casey?"

Speaking of.

Casey turned around to see Derek catching up alongside her as she walked. She just kept walking though.

"Casey listen, if I caused something to upset you I didn't mean to, it's just that this whole thing is-"

"Derek, its fine. I'm over it." Casey interrupted him, stealing a glance at him before she stopped at her locker.

"Really?" he then flashed his trademark smirk, "Well then. Am I really that damn good that you have forgiven me with not even an apology?"

Derek didn't apologize to people. But for her? He'd attempt to sail around the world in 90 days.

"Don't flatter yourself." Casey replied, rolling her eyes.

Things were back to normal already.

"Oh, but if I didn't it just wouldn't be…" he paused before flashing a big smile at her again, "…me!"

Casey rolled her eyes again. What a clown.

"How did the talk with Paul go?" Derek asked, as he watched her open up her locker and pull books for her next classes out.

"It was…something." Casey answered.

Derek folded his arms and leaned against the locker beside hers, "Really?"

"Yeah but I'd feel better talking about it after school." Casey replied, giving him a sincere look.

Derek nodded, "Okay I guess I owe you."

"Thanks." Casey replied, "What about you, have you talked to everyone on the list yet?"

"Everyone but your precious Max." Derek told, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "By the way, what kind of shit did you talk on me to him this morning?"

Casey smiled, "It's none of your business what my boyfriend and I discuss."

She could tell by the look on his face that this was going to be priceless payback towards him for being such a jerk towards her this morning. She was going to drive him absolutely nuts with this. No one else but her knew this…but Derek wasn't only afraid of tears. He was afraid of the unknown.

"But it is so my business."

"How?"

"What do you mean how, it involves me does it not?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?! You see, this is what I meant by conniving and scheming."

"No you just hate when someone talks about you and you don't know what they've said."

"HA! Please. You're so wrong."

"So you really don't want to know what I told Max about you?"

"I could care less about that son of a – and what could you possibly have said anyway?! You got nothing on me!"

"Oh please! I could write a list of dirt on you if I wanted."

"Casey!"

The next class held much amusement for Casey. And it's just what she had needed. A break from all of the serious issues that had plagued her for the past 4 days. A note fell onto her desk from over her shoulder and she smiled as she unfolded it and read the sloppy handwriting.

'You know I live with you. It will only be a matter of time before you cave.'

She wanted to laugh, but given the fact the teacher was lecturing it wouldn't have been smart. So she picked up her pen and scribbled down 'Never in a million years, Derek.' She tossed the note back behind her without looking, and heard him noisily open it. She rolled her eyes. Derek had no respect, especially when he knew he was supposed to be quiet.

Casey glanced over at Kendra, who was on her left side, and noted that she was busy texting on her cell phone. She smiled. This was the most normal she had felt since Friday night, and it felt so good. Finally she was enjoying being in a classroom again. She was having fun with Derek, Kendra, and she was actually getting something from the lecture. She only prayed things could stay this way. Even though she knew they wouldn't, even for a little while would be a-okay.

When the final bell of the day rang, she headed towards her locker to drop off her books. She actually wasn't going to have any homework tonight. There were no upcoming tests, so she didn't even need to study. Well…maybe she'd keep her algebra book with her. After all, there was no such thing as too much studying.

"Hey Casey!" Emily greeted her, as she had just finished closing the door to her locker.

"Oh hey Em!" Casey replied back with a smile.

She felt like Emily had been such a stranger lately. Though, even if it was true, it was for a good reason. She was so happy that Emily had finally met a boyfriend that treated her right. She spent so much time with Sheldon, but that couldn't have been a bad thing at all.

Emily then was frowning though, but with a look of concern and she reached out and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, "It seems your feeling a little better than you were last night."

Casey immediately was faced with memories of the mailbox incident, but nodded none the less, "Yeah. I still am struggling with keeping the visions out of my head, but, I really am trying to just focus on other things."

"That's good." Emily replied, "Well I have to get going. But if you need anything, anything at all, you have my cell number. Please promise me you'll use it."

Casey felt herself smile at Emily again as she reached over and pulled her into a hug, "I will Emily, I promise."

"Okay." Emily said as she was returning the hug, "I'll see you later, okay?"

Casey nodded and gave her a small wave as she walked off. She was about to open her locker, when yet another voice distracted her.

"Casey."

She spun around to see Max standing there, with an annoyed look on his face.

"Hey Max…" she paused, and gave him a questioning glance, "What's wrong?"

He had no qualms about telling her, "What's wrong is Derek."

"Oh no…did he say something?" Casey asked, sighing as she leaned against the locker.

"Oh he said more than something." Max narrowed his eyes so that his gaze pierced her enough to make her completely uncomfortable. "He accused me of harassing you. Though he didn't say what about and I asked him 20 times, all he had to say was that he would have no problem using my face as a punching bag if he found out that I was."

Casey looked at the ground. Great. Just great.

"So if you would give an explanation to me I'd be appreciative." Max snapped, "Because I think I damn well deserve one."

Casey didn't know what to say. Her eyes shot up towards him with sympathy, "Max, I'm sorry about that, I really am." She paused, "Derek's means well."

Max exhaled sharply and folded his arms as he listened to her excuses. He was beyond annoyed now. Why was she defending Derek? He was getting sick and tired of her always sticking up for him. She was the one that always used to complain to him about how much of a jerk Derek was and how frustrated she always was with him. But when Max needed to lodge a complaint about the guy she ran to his defense? It was bullshit. It really was.

"We've just had some things going on lately, and he's really upset with the way these things have made me feel, but I promise you that I don't agree with the way he handled talking to you. I told him to be civilized but I guess –" at that point Casey was cut off.

"Oh so you knew he was going to come talk to me did you?" Max was furious, "You could have at least given me some kind of warning! Instead you just let it happen?" He watched her glance at the ground again, tears threatening to pour from her eyes, "Casey I enjoy what we have together, but I don't understand what the hell has gotten into you these past few days. I mean, first you never eat lunch with me anymore. I can never find you at your locker. You cancel coming over yesterday, and now this?"

Casey shook her teary eyes at him, "Max it's not like that at all-"

"Well what is it like then, Casey?" Max asked, stunning her into silence and interrupting her for the 2nd time. He started backing away, as he held up his hands, "Cause I sure as hell don't know anymore."

She watched him spin on his heel and make his way through the crowd, disappearing into it within seconds, and leaving her there, teary eyed and alone. Why had he been so angry? She could understand him being frustrated about the encounter with Derek, but he hadn't even let her explain. Enough was enough. She decided that she was going to call Max tonight and tell him everything. Whether Derek liked it or not. She owed Max that much now. Plus he was her boyfriend. Or at least, she hoped he still was. Maybe he just needed time to cool off. So she'd give it a few hours, and around 6:30 or so tonight she'd call him, with a confession ready.

She hadn't yelled or been upset with Derek the whole car ride home. And even he was wondering what was going on. They had spent most of it in silence, Casey staring aimlessly out the window, and Derek swerving a good amount because he was trying to read her facial expressions. Casey figured it'd be pointless to yell at him. Seeing as in a few hours, he was going to be the one flaming pissed at her. Yeah she was upset with him for how he'd acted towards Max. But the tables would soon be turned, and he'd be upset with her instead. It was payback enough. That and she was also developing a small headache.

Finally, Derek decided to break the silence, despite his inner feelings to just not say anything at all. "Why are you so quiet for?"

Casey glanced over at him, "Nothing. I got into a stupid fight with Max." she then faced out the window again.

Derek didn't say anything else. No use in pushing things, and he knew the fight had probably been started over what he'd said to Max. Though, if he found out later that Max had been mean, he'd be confronting the moron again.

Casey was attempting to have a normal day despite her inner war with her own mind that was pushing to bring up last night. She knew Derek was going to ask at some point during the car ride what might have been wrong with her. And she knew a simple answer had been the best response. Like she had thought before, later was going to be payback enough. When they got in the house, they were both startled nearly to death to find the fridge door standing open, and the tv turned on. Had someone gotten into the house? The door had been locked, they'd had to use the key to get in. Of course, that didn't rule out someone could have crawled through or broken through a window.

Casey gave Derek a fearful look, and even though he was a bit creeped out, he had to play the part of the man right now.

"Casey, you stay here, I'll go check it out." Derek ordered, pointing at her.

Casey glared over at him, "Derek please, you're just as scared as I am. Let's check it out together. There's safety in numbers."

Derek cocked his head to the side, a smirk playing on his features as he raised an eyebrow at her, "I, the great Derek Venturi, do not get scared. Ever."

"Oh? Is that why you had that same panicked look on your face as you do when I'm about to cry?" Casey folded her arms and cocked her head right back at him.

"You can't use that against me, that is completely different." Derek replied, clearly annoyed that she had bested him at his last statement.

"Is that so? Well I'm dying to hear your explanation for that one, but someone could be in our house right now, yet here you stand attempting to argue with me because you're too prideful to admit that you get scared once in a while." Casey snapped back.

Derek pointed a finger and opened his mouth to say something to her, but instead all he could do was stare at her with a blank gaze. He had to man up and investigate the house. Finally, he resorted to a, "Whatever Case. Quit wasting my time." He waved her off and headed out of the kitchen.

She rolled her eyes and followed behind him as they checked out the lower floor to the house. They looked in closets, and Casey had almost burst out laughing because Derek had been reluctant to open a couple of them up. Although she had been fearful that someone would have come jumping out of one of them, and they could have been shot or killed by the intruder, at least she would have died laughing from the visions of his nervous expressions. He had also picked up one of his hockey sticks to use as protection, just in case someone was in the house. Then again, they could have just been in such a daze this morning they could have left the fridge open and tv on themselves. After all, neither of them had slept too well.

Derek stopped at the end of the stairwell and gazed up them. He was glad Casey was behind him, because in all reality, he could feel that he was wearing a nervous expression. And he didn't want her to witness that anymore than she already had.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Casey asked after a couple moments of them standing in an idle position.

"Shut up. I'm going." Derek muttered bitterly, "And I'd rather you stay downstairs. I don't need you following me like a lost puppy. Even though you do it anyway 95 of the time."

"Could you be any more of a jerk?" Casey mumbled from behind him, as they climbed the stairs cautiously.

"Yes I could." Derek answered, and Casey could tell he was smirking,

She sighed loudly and Derek stopped suddenly, causing her to run into him. She was just about to say something, and he knew it, because before she could she heard him 'shhh' her.

"Do you hear that?" Derek turned to glance at her, and she could see that he was intent and listening to something that was out of the norm.

Casey gave him a strange glance and took a couple more steps forward. Then she could hear it. The faint sound of the shower running in the upstairs bathroom. So there was someone here. And…they decided to take a shower?

Casey was now so nervous, that without knowing it, she reached out and grabbed Derek's arm in her hands, squeezing it, and she began to panic, "Oh my God Derek, what if it's him? What if it's the guy that killed the dog and put it in the mailbox?! What if he kills us?!"

"Shh Casey, cool it." Derek said, prying her hands off of his arm. He had already started losing circulation from her gripping so hard. He knew she was scared, but it would be much harder for him to defend them both with her hanging on like that, "I'm not even going to give him time to act before my hockey stick connects with his face." He began walking towards the bathroom door, a new found confidence. Not only had this person broken into the house, and decided to use their shower, but whoever it was had caused Casey to freak out, and be scared. That just didn't fly.

"No Derek please!" Casey had grabbed his arm again and put her resistance against his. Though he was clearly stronger, he sighed and stopped, preparing to calm her again. He glanced at her, and could tell she was on the verge of tears.

"Oh geez Casey, please not now." Derek said, forcing himself to look her in the eyes although they were watery and threatening to overflow, "I can't handle tears and an intruder at the same time. You cry, we die." He stated simply, "So I'll let this be your decision."

Casey sobbed, but forced herself to not let anything drip out of her eyes, only in turn, gripping Derek's arm tighter, "What if they have a gun?"

Derek contemplated this in his head for a moment, thinking, 'Shit. What if they do have a gun?' He was sure he had thought about that before when they first entered the house, but given that they were only moments away from seeing who this intruder was, that thought was a lot more nerve wrecking now. He didn't want to say anything that would freak her out anymore than she already was. And he definitely didn't want to say anything that would cause her to go on and cry, so he sighed, and attempted to give her the most reassuring gaze he could muster, "Casey, the Fridge had guns. Big ones. Did they stop me?"

Casey rolled her eyes, "No. Because I stopped them before they had a chance to be fired at your face."

Derek returned the eye roll at her statement, "Yeah okay but the point is, that I wasn't afraid to face him despite the advantage he clearly had over me. You can't show fear in situations like this. Then they'll have you where they want you. I'll be fine. You'll be fine. Trust me." He explained, noticing a somewhat calm expression brush her features, if only for a split second. Oh well, bottom line he had done his job. "And would you please stay behind and resist the urge to attach yourself to me like velcro? If this guy does have a weapon, you might get hurt with that kind of behavior."

Casey just kept looking at him. She didn't release her hold, nor did she say anything. It was like she had drifted off into a daze. Derek sighed, realizing she hadn't been paying attention to a word he'd said after his remark about not being afraid, and he grunted, "Okay. Case? Let go." He began to pry her hands off his arm again, but she fought with him on that.

"No Derek! What if I never see you again! What if I never get to hold onto you again!" she let the words out before thinking and watched him raise an eyebrow.

"I see you're attached. Not just physically but emotionally." Derek smirked, "It's alright Casey, I can't blame you. Every girl I meet feels the same. They never want to let me go."

Casey gave him a repulsed expression and let go immediately, "Ugh! You are so into yourself!"

"Obviously after your display of affection I have a reason to be." Derek was still smirking at her. Ha! Take that Casey! He knew it would work.

"That was not affection." Casey snapped, folding her arms and turning her head away from him.

However, the smirk remained as Derek spun around and noticed the shower had stopped running. Geez. Leave it up to him to be so distracted by her that he hears nothing else. Getting back into the zone, he could hear the heavy footsteps of someone stepping out of the shower, and begin to whistle. The hell?

Casey had already gotten back in the zone as well, and was fearfully observing things from a few feet back. She could hear the whistling too, and though it struck her as odd, maybe this person though they had enough time before anyone would be coming home. Though…if this was the 'secret admirer' then he would have well known. But maybe that was his plan.

Derek stood outside the bathroom door, gripping his hockey stick tighter in his hands, ready for action. The doorknob rattled, turned, and the door creaked open.

Derek almost swung at the unsuspecting figure, but when the sound of a teenage boy's voice rang out through the air, Derek dropped his arms to his side and stared in disbelief, "Ed?!"

"Ed, as in Edwin?!" Casey was immediately by his side, staring in disbelief as well.

"Derek! What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?" Edwin defended, narrowing his eyes at his older brother.

Derek fumed, reaching forward and grabbing him by the collar forcefully, "No! You almost gave us a heart attack! How the hell did you get home?!"

"Dad and Nora sent me!" Edwin confessed quickly, hoping not to be on the receiving end of Derek's anger for much longer, "I kept getting in trouble and my punishment was being sent home early and having to go to school!" He squeezed his eyes shut and tilted his head to the side, covering it with his hands, "Please don't hit me too hard!"

Derek realized their current situation and rolled his eyes, releasing the grip he had and shoving him backwards slightly, "I'm not going to hit you Ed."

"Whoo. Thank God." Edwin sighed in relief as he smoothed out his clothes, and glanced up. Derek was still glaring at him though, so he decided to shift his focus to Casey. "Hey Casey. Looking lovely today." He winked at her, and she shook her head, still shocked over the entire recent event. Derek would have mauled Edwin had it been a second later and if he'd failed to realize it was him.

"Thanks." She replied, "And sorry. We thought you might have just been someone that had broken into the house."

Edwin glanced at them strangely, "Then why didn't you call the police?"

Casey smirked. Perfect question. She glanced at Derek, "Yeah Derek, why didn't we call the police?"

Both of their eyes were now on him, and he glanced between them for a moment, "Because there was no reason to! I had it under control." He defended.

Edwin just gave Casey a knowing glance, "Let me guess, he had that same terrified and nervous look on his face as he usually does when you're about to cry, didn't he?"

Casey nodded, but before she could respond, Derek had let out a 'Why you little!' Edwin knew that was an indication to run quickly, and he did just that, Derek following closely behind him.

"I'm gonna beat your ass Edwin!"

Casey laughed as she watched the two disappear down the stairs. Having Edwin back was going to be great. Things were going to feel the most normal now, then they had since Friday.

* * *

**AN : Hopefully you guys weren't disappointed with this chapter. I tried to write the last scene between Casey and Derek more for humor than for scare. Well, rather, the emotions and the fact that they were struggling with each other while struggling with themselves all at once on how to handle the situation became a little bit of a challenge. But like I said, I hope you all enjoyed.**

**The next chapter WILL, I repeat WILL have some more scare. (I'm actually almost done writing it.) So be prepared and stay tuned!**


	5. Ashes Ashes

**AN : I can only hope this chapter will satisfy you guys. When I re-read it, I felt a little ashamed, I feel like I got somewhat...I don't know...sloppy in a way? I'm heavily critical of myself when it comes to my own work though, so hopefully all my fears will go away with reviews that you guys thought it the opposite of what I did. And that you did enjoy it. There will be a character death here. Hopefully that won't earn me any harsh criticism - though I know it's a possibility. Anyways! My other hope is that this will hold you guys over. I probably won't be able to update until Saturday or Sunday! I've been working alot, and been feeling guilty because I need to put my next video out as well. Enough rambling! Onwards!**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part five - Ashes Ashes_

* * *

"Whoo hoo! Food!" Edwin exclaimed reaching both his arms out for one of the bowls Casey was holding.

"Ed! Back up!" Derek extended an arm in front of him, and held his other one out towards Casey, "She serves me first."

Edwin gave Derek a playful glare, "She's not your slave!"

Casey smiled, as she finished putting the pasta in the bowls and spun around to face Edwin, "Thank you Edwin. You've learned what I've been trying to teach Derek for months now." she shot a glare at Derek, who rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest.

"No problem, my lovely step-sister." Edwin flashed her a big smile as he took the bowl she was handing to him. He immediately grabbed his fork and began eating like he'd never eaten before in his life.

Casey put Derek's bowl in front of him as he glared over towards his younger brother, "Did they not feed you on the trip, Ed?"

"Are you kidding me?" Edwin asked between bites, "The whole trip consisted of vending machine and convenience store food." he paused and swallowed the bit currently in his mouth before wearing a pained expression, "That's no way to live."

"Have I taught you nothing?" Derek cleared his throat and gripped the edges of his bowl, "I would choose that over Casey's cooking any day."

As if he already knew it was going to happen, Casey snapped a glare in his direction and reached out to grab the bowl back. However, Derek had already prepped himself. He knew she would try and take the bowl back. When Casey couldn't get the bowl out of his hands, she huffed, "Well if you hate it so much don't eat it!"

"I didn't say I hated it." Derek said, then smirked at her, before sticking a fork in the pasta, "I just said I'd choose junk food over it."

Casey rolled her eyes and grabbed a soapy dish sponge from the sink.

"Well for what it's worth, I like it Casey. I think it's fantastic." Edwin piped in.

Casey glanced over at Edwin and smiled, "Thank you Edwin. That's very kind." she put emphasis in the last half of her statement, her voice firming sternly on 'kind' as she looked at Derek.

Derek rolled his eyes and glared at Edwin. Why was he so full of flattery towards Casey today? It was making him look bad. He reached over and smacked Edwin over the back of the head before returning to his duty at consuming his bowl of pasta. Casey was busy wiping down the counter and cleaning up from the cooking mess.

She was thinking of the phone call she had made to her mother roughly right after her and Derek had found him home.

_"Mom, you do know that Edwin nearly gave Derek and I a heart attack?"_

_"Edwin is home?! Oh thank God."_

_Casey laughed slightly, "You could have at least called this morning and given us warning. Or called the school and left a message with us."_

_"Well honey, if I'd have known Edwin was going home, I would have let you know."_

_Casey paused at this, "You...didn't send him home?"_

_Nora gasped, "Of course not! George and I would never let him ride home alone on a bus himself. He was gone this morning when we woke up. He left a note that said he had to go home, he got a bus ticket, because he had forgotten there was a test this week at school."_

_Casey paused again. Edwin...lied? But why?_

_"Oh okay." she answered, "Well he is here safe and sound."_

_Nora could tell Casey was wearing a nervous smile. Edwin had really scared them by being home without any warning._

_"Well sorry that it ended up being trouble for you and Derek."_

_"No no mom. No trouble at all." Casey replied quickly, "I'm just glad he got home safe too after being on the bus ride alone."_

She had felt bothered ever since she'd found out Edwin had lied about why he was home. Of course, if she had a test that week, she'd have done the same thing. But she would have at least told the truth about it. She hadn't mentioned anything about it to Derek or Edwin. And she hadn't told her mother the excuse Edwin had given them. She just figured Edwin was taking too much after Derek as far as the lying went and decided to shake it off. Though, something just didn't feel right about the entire thing.

She heard the phone ring and that's when it suddenly occurred to her. She had forgotten to call Max! Glancing at the clock she noticed it was a little after 8. Damn!

"Casey it's your lame boyfriend."

Immediately she whipped around and ripped the phone from Derek's hands, "Max? Hi!" she said as she walked from the kitchen, leaving Edwin to watch her vacate and Derek making a gagging expression.

"I was just about to call you." Casey informed as she walked up the stairs, "I actually meant to call you earlier, but I was sidetracked because Edwin's home and he wasn't supposed to be and then I found out he really shouldn't be home and-"

"Okay Casey calm down I got it." Max replied from the other end, "I just needed to call you because..."

There was a pause in Max's voice and also in Casey's retreat to her room. She stopped just outside the door, and her heart dreaded what this conversation was about to become.

Max sighed from the other side, "Because this just isn't going to work right now."

Casey felt her eyes begin to burn, "Wha..Max?"

"You've been so distanced to me." Max explained, "And no offense but it seems like someone else has become bigger priority."

Casey immediately began the excuse train, "No that's not true! No one could ever become a bigger priority! I'm sorry I've been so distanced, but if you just give me a chance to explain-"

"Casey shut up!" Max yelled from the other end, stunning her into silence. "Do you have any idea what it feels like when I'm the one who is your supposed boyfriend yet I'm the third wheel?!"

Casey's face twisted to one of confusion, "Max, what are you-"

"Don't play stupid Casey." Max snapped back. Thank God he hadn't yelled this time, "Everything is always about Derek now. And I get it. But I'm tired of being played like this by that low life."

Casey was at a loss for words. She didn't even know what to say, or how to apologize. But she felt incredibly bad. Because if Max really was feeling like a third wheel? She had never meant it.

"When you're ready to grow up and stop riding the fence, call me." Max said. His voice sounded calm, but to Casey his tone was disturbing, "Until then, you're dead to me."

And with that he hung up. Casey slouched against the wall outside her bedroom and slid down, pulling her knees to her chest, and burying her face in them to cry.

Not even 20 minutes later, Derek came upstairs.

"Oh hell..." he said hesitantly, standing about 5 feet away from her, and giving her a questioning glance, "Uh, listen." he said nervously, "Edwin and I are just going to go to the video store..."

He paused for a second, as he watched her shaking figure. He gave her props, she seemed to really be trying to control her sobs. Part of him wanted to ask her what was wrong, and what that asshole could have said to her this time. Yet, the part of him that couldn't stand the sight of tears still outweighed the other. He scratched the back of his head, "Uh, did you want to watch anything in particular?"

It took her a moment, but he could tell she was shaking her head, though barely because she had her face buried.

"Okay." Derek said, "Well then, we'll see you in a bit."

Derek watched as her form remained idle and he turned to walk down the stairs. Before he got there he turned to look at her one more time, "Just so you know Casey. He isn't worth this."

With that, he had left, and Casey heard the sounds of them talking downstairs, before the door opened and closed.

Why was Derek being nice about this? He would usually spout off at the mouth and say something like 'why are you crying again? That is so annoying!' Casey figured it was due to the fact that Derek felt somewhat responsible for what had taken place. And though he had no clue what the talk had consisted of, after he flamed Max today at school, she supposed he'd made a safe assumption.

She had every right to give Derek a piece of her mind for this. It was mostly his fault anyway that this had happened. How could she have ever made Max feel like the third wheel? Especially with Derek? However, she was emotionally drained, and so tired from everything that had happened this past weekend, and the start of this week already had been rough. Tomorrow was Wednesday and already her energy for the entire week was spent. It pissed her off. While she was always so organized and in control of her life, lately, things had been completely out of her control. There was nothing she could do about them.

She felt so miserable that she was hiding something from so many people. And the one person she truly cared about she had just lost.

'_Until then, you're dead to me.'_

Why had he been so cold? The sentence replayed over and over in her head like a cd that was skipping. She had to make it stop. So she bit her bottom lip, and picked up the phone, dialing the number of someone she could only pray had free time at the moment.

"So what exactly did you do to get sent home Edwin?" Derek asked as they walked to the video store. "I mean, to piss them off that much?"

Edwin kept his face forward and shrugged, "I kept sneaking around the hotel."

"Why? That's stupid." Derek replied bluntly, as he ran a hand through his hair. He noticed a soda can on the ground beside a waste basket and picked it up, placing it inside. Damn Casey and her 'do-the-right-thing' attitude.

"You can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing." Edwin told accusingly, "Dad and Nora were being too strict. Lizzie, Marti and I were stuck in that hotel room for hours at a time while they were off tending to dad's business. How am I supposed to just stay in one place for so long?"

Derek had to admit. Edwin had a point. No way in hell would he have respected the 'stay in the room' rule. Though, now he was home, and in more danger with the whole incident that had started Friday night with Casey. In all reality, as sick and tired as he was of seeing Casey so emotional lately, his heart really went out to her. She'd been going through hell all week, and he was doing his best to stay by her side throughout it, but there were just some things, he couldn't help her with. Like whatever it was that had happened on the phone between her and Max. He could always go to Max and tell him he had been out of line when he'd confronted him that day, but there was no way on the green earth he was going to do that.

Still, he hadn't even gotten to have a conversation with Casey since yesterday. What with her being mad at him at the start of the day, the Max situation at the end of school and her refusing to be talkative, Edwin scaring them by being home. He hadn't gotten to officially hear how the talk with Paul had gone. And he hadn't gotten to tell her how the talk between Noel and him had gone.

_He did his best not to strangle the kid in all his seemingly innocent glory. As he approached the locker, he knew he had to do all he could within his power to not go off on his only true competition. He was poetic. He was theatrical. He was talented. He liked to talk. Noel was a chump._

_  
__To tell you the truth, Derek had no real beef with the kid except for the fact that he had made the mistake of laying his eyes on Casey. And as much as he wanted to beat the crap out of him for doing that, he knew that he couldn't. Just for the sake of her._

"_Noel. Buddy." Derek managed, as he approached his locker._

_  
Noel spun around and forced a smile towards his beautiful Casey's step-brother, "Derek? What's up?"_

"_Oh nothing, I just, saw you over here." Derek shoved his hands into his pockets, "Figured I'd come and say hi."_

_Noel gave Derek a strange glance, before laughing slightly, "You didn't come over here to say hi."_

_Derek glanced up at him and sighed, "You're right. I didn't." he paused for a moment, "I came over here because…"_

_Noel waited for Derek to give an explanation for his un-expected visit. "Because…?"_

"_It's Casey." Derek replied, short and simple. _

_  
"Casey?" Noel immediately had given his undivided attention to the conversation, "What's wrong? Is she doing alright?"_

"_Yes and no." Derek explained, "She's got a lot on her mind lately. Forgive me for assuming you have anything to do with it, but it's probably best if you stayed as far away from her as possible for a while."_

_Noel didn't quite know what Derek meant by his last statement, "Well…is it serious? I mean, if there's anything I can do to help her-"_

"_I just told you the best possible way that you can." Derek rolled his eyes at Noel's persistence. He didn't do well with pushy people, so it easily allowed him to glare, "So if you can do that, then we won't have problems."_

"_Derek…did Casey tell you to say something? Or...?" Noel paused a second, trying to think of the right words to say, "Because we really don't get to talk much as it is…she's always with Max. But if I've done something-"_

"_I don't know Noel, have you done something?" Derek was still glaring at him. He pulled his hands from his pockets, and crossed his arms over his chest._

_Noel gave him an arrogant smile. "Derek, I'm not sure exactly what this is about. But I care for Casey, okay? I'm going to be there for her if she needs me."_

_Derek raised an eyebrow at this. Was he challenging him? He pointed a finger at him, and his glare at this point pierced straight through Noel. _

_Noel lost his arrogant smile at that moment as Derek's cold eyes bore through him._

_  
"Let me make this clear one last time Noel. As long as Casey has me? She needs no one else." Derek snapped, and with that spun on his heel and walked off, leaving Noel to glare coldly at him as he walked away._

So maybe it was a good thing that he hadn't gotten to talk to Casey much about his encounter with Noel today. He himself didn't know what to make of the talk yet. Noel had seemed genuinely worried, that was true, but facing facts? The idiot was crazy about Casey. Not to mention he was secretive, shady…and just all out strange. Derek didn't trust him.

He had really also been hesitant to leave Casey home alone with all the recent events. But Casey was in a mood right now. He was sure that if her 'admirer' decided to show his face tonight, that she'd show her claws. So he felt confident enough to know that she'd be alright for the short time they were going to be gone.

Boy was he wrong.

Casey sighed through her tear streaked eyes, and grabbed a soda from the fridge. What was wrong with the world? It was falling apart on her and she hadn't retrieved even one of the pieces to put it back together yet. Emily would be there soon. She'd called her, and of course she had been with Sheldon. Thankfully Emily was an awesome friend. She said that she'd have Sheldon bring her over right away. Casey was going to tell her everything. Maybe that's half the reason she felt like going crazy was because she had no one to vent to about this. Well…there was Derek but half the time he was insensitive and the other half she didn't even know what to make of his behavior.

The doorbell rang, jarring her from her thoughts, and she walked over to answer it.

"Hey Em..ily…" Casey began to greet, but no one was standing outside. Casey took a step outside and glanced out into the yard. She didn't even see so much as a shadow moving. Her gut feeling began to rise. 'Oh no…' she thought, 'Not now…I'm all by myself…!' She backed up into the house, and as she took the last step off the concrete, something was noisy under her shoe.

She glanced down to see a note lying there. She was sick of all these games. Reading notes and IM's only caused her misery, and started trouble. But she also found herself hesitantly kneeling down to pick it up. Her eyes darted in all directions, making sure she was still alone and grabbed the note, unfolding it.

'**WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS WHAT YOU ARE TO ME**

**THE NEXT ONE TO PAY IS THE ONE WHO WAS MEAN****'**

Casey's expression twisted into utter confusion. What was this supposed to mean? The next one to pay is the one who was mean? She studied the note carefully. It was from the same person who'd wrote her the one from her locker. It was another threat.

She quickly ran through the events of her day, as her gut filled with nervousness. Something bad was about to happen. She just had to figure out who. She had to warn them. Who had been mean? Derek? They had gotten into the spout this morning. Casey had told Max that he'd been being mean and snapping at her. Derek had confronted Max today and said some harsh stuff to him. Enough to upset Max enough to break up with her. Had Derek been mean to Noel? Had Derek even talked to Noel? She had to find Derek quick. This person was after him.

Casey quickly grabbed the phone and punched in a phone number. The phone rang and rang but she was directed to voice mail. Without another thought, she grabbed her hoodie from the coat rack and bolted out the door. She ran as quickly as she could down the sidewalk and towards the direction of the video store. Thousands of horrid thoughts swamped her mind. This person had viciously butchered a dog and left it in her mailbox yesterday. She knew they were demented and messed up enough to commit something morbid. And if anything happened to Derek? Or Edwin? She'd never forgive herself.

"DEREK! EDWIN!" she screamed as she ran down the sidewalk. Hopefully they were on their way back. Hopefully she'd run into them and no harm would be done at all.

Derek browsed through the comedy section at the video store. Edwin had walked over to the video games section to see if there was anything new he could check out for the Playstation. The sequel to Babe Raider hadn't come out yet, which was discouraging. But then again, there was that new game out with the hot vampire chick. It had been a good enough commercial to spark his interest.

Derek had rolled his eyes at Edwin's lustful nature towards the game, but dismissed him away none-the-less. He was looking for something that would lighten the mood of things lately. Something that he thought Casey would like as well. Superbad was a good one. But of course, Casey would probably be upset about there being topless women or too much profanity or something of the sort. So he dismissed that option.

Not any longer had his eyes shifted to the next movie that he bumped into someone. He turned to see who it was and almost had gotten out a 'my bad,' when his eyes rested on a glaring expression boring into him. If only looks could kill.

"Well if it isn't the football captain."

"If it isn't the son of a bitch who ruined Casey and I's relationship."

Derek laughed out loud, as he tilted back slightly. "Oh Max." He gave him a rather rough tap on the shoulders, "Blaming things on me again for no reason."

"Don't touch me Venturi." Max snapped violently, "You're the reason I was forced to break up with her tonight. You jumped into the middle of our relationship where you had no place to be."

"Wait wait, you broke up with Casey?" Derek raised his eyebrow, completely forgetting the fact that Max had been almost violent when he'd jerked his shoulder away. Normally that would have earned him at least 2 punches in the face. If not 3.

"Don't pretend like you don't know. She tells you everything." Max snapped harshly again, his voice becoming more and more cold, "And it's your fault that I lost her."

"Ah I really didn't know." Derek said, trying to stay serious, although with the news, all he wanted to do was smile. "But now that I do, I must admit that I'm ecstatic that you're finally going to be out of her life."

"Yeah that was your plan all along." Max accused. This earned him a cold glare back. Derek was getting sick of his attitude. And fast. "Never thought I'd be beat out by a low life loser such as yourself."

Derek swallowed hard, and his fist clenched, "Max." he paused, taking a deep breath, "If I were you? I'd walk away quickly."

"Or what?" Max edged him on, "You going to make one of your stupid threats?"

Derek grabbed Max by the collar without thinking. It all happened so fast. Edwin, who had been coming around the corner at the time, dropped the game case he was carrying, along with his jaw. They had also attracted a couple other bystanders. Derek had slammed Max roughly against the wall of new releases, causing several of the movie cases to fall off the shelves.

The manager of the facility had run over along with another employee to see what the cause of commotion was. Damn kids. This happened often.

"Hey! Both of you better knock it off or I'll call the authorities!" the manager snapped at them.

Derek ignored the manager's threat. So did Max. Their eyes remained glued on one another, fire burning in them.

"I said walk away Max." Derek said again. He made a point to stare at him for another moment, before backing off and releasing him roughly.

"You better watch your back, Derek." Max seethed out, as he glared at Derek for another second, before maintaining his composure and walking away, leaving him there furious. Derek took a few deep breaths and heard the manager telling people that the show was over and apologizing for the disruption.

After a few seconds, Edwin walked over to Derek. "You okay bro?"

"Fine." Derek replied shortly.

Edwin took no offense. There were very few things in life that got Derek that riled up. Max was one of them. He knew Derek would be fine as long as he was given the time to calm down.

"Derek! Edwin!"

Both of the boys spun around at the sound of Casey's voice and looked to see her rushing down the aisles of the video store to get to them.

"Oh thank God you both are alright." Casey said, trying to catch her breath.

"Of course…" Edwin raised an eyebrow at her. "Why wouldn't we be?"

Before Casey could respond, Derek cut in, "You just missed your ray of sunshine ex-boyfriend." He mumbled in resentment.

"Max was here?!" Casey exclaimed, causing a few people to look in her direction.

"Yeah you could probably still catch him if you hur…wait, when did you and Max break up?" Edwin was just confused by the entire situation.

"Yeah, when did you and Max break up?" Derek piped in yet again.

Casey glanced over at Derek, and could tell that the more apparent question on his features read, 'Has something else happened?' but for the sake of Edwin hearing something he didn't voice it aloud. Casey didn't know how much longer they could keep this charade up without having to involve others. Right now that wasn't important. She walked over and stood as closely as she could to Derek and slipped the note she had received just recently into his hand.

Edwin was glaring in curiosity. He was feeling rather left out. Though, he wasn't going to push it right at this moment, he decided that he'd wait until Derek was in a better mood, and things didn't seem so strange.

Derek glanced down to his side, to the hand where Casey had left the note, and skillfully opened it with the one hand. His eyes quickly shot up to Casey, who was bearing a look that clearly said 'I was scared to death for you.'

"We need to hurry and get home." Derek declared, "Ed!" he finally tore his gaze off of Casey's eyes and directed his gaze towards his younger brother, "Got what you want?"

Edwin nodded, and they quickly made their way to the front counter, avoiding the brief stares and gazes they were earning from others. After all, quite a commotion had been revolving around them, Derek especially, since they'd arrived.

As they were walking home, Casey's cell phone rang, and she swallowed hard, as she pulled it from her pocket. Derek held his breath, but they both sighed in relief when they seen that it was Nora calling.

"Hello?...Hey mom." Casey answered, "Oh you did? Yeah, Derek, Edwin and I just walked to the video store….Sure." Casey glanced up towards Edwin, who had walked a little bit ahead, "Edwin, mom wants to talk to you."

Edwin gave Casey a pleading look, but took the phone reluctantly, "Hey Nora! How's my favorite step-mom?" What began as Edwin sucking up with a cheesy smile on his face, turned into slight laughter for Derek and Casey as they watched his smile slowly turn into a frown. They knew at that point Nora was giving him a piece of her mind.

'Well.' Derek thought, 'Better him than me.'

Edwin walked ahead again, talking and mumbling in an extremely quiet voice. Casey knew Edwin was probably trying to hide his truths, even though she already knew them. Derek still didn't know. And she herself still didn't know why Edwin had lied to Nora, and to them. She knew it would all come out in the end though. Derek cleared his throat from beside her, and she knew it was time to talk about a subject she wished she was only having a nightmare of.

"So…when did this happen?" Derek asked, holding the note out towards her to return it.

She took it from him and sighed, "Probably about 5 minutes before I showed up at the video store."

"I knew I should have made you come." Derek seemed to be getting onto himself rather than her. "It's way too dangerous for you to be alone right now. I was stupid to think it'd be alright to leave you alone."

Casey glared over at him, but not in an accusing manner, "Derek I was hardly in any danger. This threat note was meant for you."

"How do you know that?" Derek replied, giving her a glance back, "Casey this note could have meant a number of things. And that's not the point." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "The point is that you were home by yourself, and he was obviously there because he left the note. What if he wouldn't have just kept it at that? What if he would have broken in?"

Casey took everything that he was saying in. Was he actually showing her…concern?

"You're a weakling girl. You wouldn't have been able to defend yourself."

She had thought good thoughts of Derek. And it was all too soon. She snapped her head to glare at him, "That's beside the point!"

Derek sighed, knowing all too well that Casey was right. Had this person really wanted to come after Derek for being mean? He couldn't even recall he had been really mean to her. Of course, he had been mean to….Max. A thought struck him and he glanced over at her, "Casey?"

"Yeah?" She was already glancing at him, and awaited for him to say what he needed to say.

"Would you say that I was mean to you this morning?" Derek asked. He watched her face forward, and he could tell she was scanning through her memories of that morning.

"You've been meaner. And…it's not like I didn't deliver the same attitude back towards you." Casey replied. She couldn't believe she was taking half the blame. Seemed to be her thing lately when it came to Derek. She could never let him take the fall alone. But he'd become the same with her.

"Right…however…Max was furious most of the day after I'd had my confrontation with him. Because he probably felt I was being mean to him." Derek explained, and he watched her reaction to this.

The wheels in her head had finished spinning, but he could tell she was going to deny any possible means that...

"Derek are you trying to say Max wrote this note? That he's the secret admirer?" Casey asked him, and waited for him to respond.

"I'm just saying it adds up." Derek shrugged, "And now that he's broken up with you, he wouldn't have a problem hurting anyone you care about, because your feelings no longer matter to him."

"Who says I care about you?" Casey snapped, huffing as she folded her arms and faced forward again.

Derek wanted to smirk, but the topic of conversation wouldn't permit him. However, nothing would ever stop him from making his remarks. He pointed a finger towards her, "That reaction alone proves that you do. Also the fact that you ran to the video store to make sure that I was alright?"

"Okay okay I get your point." Casey huffed again, "So I care." She then pointed a finger at him in return, "But just so you know I didn't just rush to the video store to check on you! It was also for Edwin."

This did cause Derek to smirk as he pointed forward to where Edwin was still walking ahead, "He needs more saving now than he did before."

Casey stifled some laughter as she heard Edwin's strained voice utter a "Nora pleeeeaaaase" from up ahead.

They rounded the corner to their street, and thanked the Lord they were finally home. Though, even though there was a crazy person somewhere, watching them from either close or afar, they somehow weren't so afraid walking alongside each other.

When they reached the doorstep, they noticed a small piece of white paper folded up and tucked underneath one of Nora's flower pots. They both stopped breathing again for the hundredth time that night.

"I'll get it." Derek said, attempting to do his part of stepping up and being a man.

Casey rolled her eyes and muttered a 'show off' towards him, though in all reality she was actually very thankful Derek was going to get the note this time.

Edwin was clueless still, attempting to beg his way out of punishments on the phone, and Casey silently thanked her mom for her perfect timing. She watched Derek pick up the note and unfold it.

After a moment, he turned and glared at Casey, "It's from Emily."

Casey's face went from panicked to relief in a split second and she exhaled deeply, "Oh! I forgot I had called her to come by!" She rushed up the stairs and snatched the note from Derek's hands, who rolled his eyes, and took the house key from her extended hand.

He unlocked the door, "Ed! Come on!"

He caught some of the current conversation at hand as Edwin passed through the open doorway.

"Murderers hiding out on a bus waiting for little kids like me? Nora please, your sense of humor is so far fetched!" Edwin said, "For I!" he raised a hand up in the air, "Am more dangerous than any murderer, any psycho, any stalker out there! I am a Venturi!"

Derek closed the front door and locked it behind him, and shifted his eyes to where Casey was hanging her hoodie up on the coat rack. Without any warning he shoved past her, which was about to earn him a smart remark, but Casey had no time to reply before she felt herself being jerked behind him.

"Derek what are you-"

"It's useless to argue. We've got a lot of talking to do." Derek dragged her behind him, his grip on her wrist just firm enough to where she would have no chance of getting away from him.

"But what about Edwin?"

"Why do you think I actually paid for him to rent a game?"

"Good point."

"I just don't understand what's been wrong with her. She's been acting a little weird."

"Weird? Like how?"

Sheldon had been doing his best to understand Emily's talk of Casey since they'd left the Venturi/McDonald residence 15 minutes ago.

"I don't really know how to explain it. She's just been…strange." Emily replied, as she turned to look at Sheldon, "I mean, telling me to come by and then not being there? That's not like Casey at all. Haven't you seen her in school? Talked to her?"

Sheldon shrugged, "I've seen her in the hallways. The past few days it's seemed she's always on a mission though. Not really stopping to talk to anyone."

"Did she see you?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Well then that's my point." Emily replied, "Why would she just pass you by without saying hi?"

"I don't know Em, maybe she's just got something going on right now." Sheldon shrugged once again, as they pulled into the movie theatre parking lot.

"Yeah but she always used to tell me when things were going on." Emily made a pouting face.

"Oh I get it." Sheldon said, smiling over at her, "You miss her."

"Well…no, I mean yes." Emily was stumbling over words, and she shot him a loving gaze, "I mean, I love spending so much time with you, but …I don't know something just doesn't seem right with her."

"Emily, babe." Sheldon pulled into a parking spot, and put the car in park before reaching over to run his hand along the side of her face, "All you have to do is tell me you want to spend time with Casey. I don't have a problem with you going to hang out with her. I'm a big boy. I can find something to do while you go out shopping. Besides, it's your duty as her best friend to spend time with her and be the one she vents her frustrations to."

Emily smiled softly under his touch, "You're sure you don't mind?"

Sheldon smiled again as he faced forward, "Of course not. Casey's cool. And she's my friend too." He glanced over at her and gazed into her eyes, "My very dear friend."

"I had a feeling you were crying over spilt milk."

"Derek…my boyfriend broke up with me because you were a jerk to him."

"That can't be the only reason why. And if so that's lame."

Casey sighed from her seat on her bed. Derek was gazing at her from her computer chair. "Well…he did tell me he felt like I'd replaced him with you."

Derek erupted into a fit of laughter. "Are you serious? " Derek leaned back in the seat and clapped his hands together, "That is absolutely fantas-" he cut himself off when he noticed her glaring coldly at him, and cleared his throat. "I mean, what a shame."

"Whatever." Casey rolled her eyes.

Derek leaned up in her chair, "So he was jealous? And mad at the same time." He stood up from the chair and threw his hands into the air. "All the more reason why he would write that note! All the more reason why I was right all along!" He stopped in front of Casey and pointed his finger in her face, "In your face McDonald!"

Casey pushed his finger out of her face and buried it in one of her pillows, "Something just doesn't feel right about this! Max may get angry but he just doesn't seem like the type to do this!"

"Okay? Still don't believe it's him?" Derek raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest as he began a pace across the floor, "How did your talk with Paul go today?"

"Interesting." Casey replied, "He's single. And he just finished reading a book called 'How To Get Into The Mind Of A Stalker.'"

Derek stopped his pace and focused all his attention on her, "You're kidding, right?"

Casey shook her head, "Wish I was."

Derek contemplated this for a moment before waving his hand off at her, "Still, he's a shrink. So he does have more of an eligible excuse for doing something like that."

"How many times must I tell you he's not a shrink?" Casey gazed up at him with annoyance.

"Missing the point Space Case."

She sighed again deeply, "Tell me about Noel."

"Eh, Noel was…" Derek paused for a moment, "He was very attentive."

She knew all too well what the smirk that followed meant, "You were mean to him weren't you?"

"No I wasn't." Derek defended, "At least I don't think I was. I mean, he didn't approach you furiously about it like Max the moron did, right?"

Casey rubbed her fingers on her temples, "This is beginning to be too much for me. I can't continue with this ridiculous game."

"And you don't have to." Derek stated matter of factly, "Because Max did it. We all know that now. He's busted! And I'm going to mop the school floor with his ass tomorrow."

"No you're not Derek! We're going to talk to him rationally and figure out why he has been doing this." Casey snapped at him, killing his 'happiness'. She always had to rain on his parade. "He doesn't even have a valid reason for this. He has a great life. He's popular, social, athletic-"

"Dumb."

"Shut.Up.Derek.Venturi."

Derek took a seat on Casey's bed, "Look Case, I told you. It's something boyfriends will do sometimes to get their girlfriends more committed. You failed to be more committing, therefore, Max snapped and blew it for himself. Now we know."

A soft knock came from outside the bedroom door.

"Go away Ed!"

Casey felt her nervousness rush into her like a flood. Something wasn't right.

"I just found an envelope outside for Casey!"

Derek glanced over at her, and could tell by the panicked look on her face that she felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. He too, felt slightly nervous. An envelope on the stairs for Casey? Derek got up and opened the door, grabbing it from him, "Who brought it?"

Edwin shrugged, "I have no idea, I was sitting playing my game and I heard a sound like a rock hit the window. So I went to look outside and found this sitting there."

Derek grabbed him by the collar, "Edwin, go downstairs, play your game, and do.not. open that front door again unless I am there. Understood?"

Edwin gave Derek a strange glance, "Derek…what's going on? You and Casey have been acting-"

"Just do what I say." Derek snapped, shoving him out the door and slamming it behind him.

Edwin shook his head and headed back down the hallway.

Derek turned towards Casey, holding the yellow envelope in his hands. He extended it towards her. "Max is pissed because we know."

Casey reached out shakily for the envelope and swallowed hard. She nodded, wanting to believe Derek, but something told her that what was inside the envelope was going to be horrid.

Derek could tell she was struggling, and sat beside her again, "It's alright Case. I'm here." He gazed towards her, trying any means he could to calm her. "Open it. Probably just another lame note."

"For an envelope this big?" Casey wanted to put off opening the envelope for as long as she could. She noticed Derek was beginning to get impatient, and took a deep breath, swallowing her nervousness, and opened it. She pulled out what looked to be a small and very thin book.

She gave Derek another glance, and he sent her a reassuring one in return, urging her that it would be alright, and she looked back at the small book. Running her hands over the front, black cover, she opened it up.

It was a photograph. She looked at it strangely for a moment, "That's Max's car…." She looked at Derek and could tell that even though he was trying to be the strong one, he looked as though he could break at any moment. His eyes were glued to the photo, and she turned the page of the small book.

She gasped. It was another photo of Max's car. Only this time he was sitting inside. And it was on fire. Tears threatened her as she read a caption in black marker below it. The same writing she had been seeing in all of the haunting notes she'd received lately.

'**ASHES.ASHES.'**

She shoved the book into Derek's hands, "I can't! I can't do it! Derek don't make me do it!" she buried her face in her pillow and the flood gates were opened.

Derek watched her for a moment, unable to really respond, or leave the room although she was crying. He glanced down at the photo again. There was one more page to turn.

The next photo was of Max's car, soaring through a metal road railing at a curve, and off the side of a steep hill. His eyes scanned down to the writing. He reached over, grabbed Casey by the arm and pulled her towards him, causing her head to leave the pillow. But he didn't look at her. His eyes stayed glued to the writing below the picture, as a cold, hard, realization hit them both. "Casey…when Max broke up with you…was he mean?"

Casey didn't want to answer the question. And she didn't want to see the last picture in the book. Something horrible had happened to Max. She knew it. He was on fire. He was no longer with her. She felt it in her heart. He was gone. Her tear filled eyes forced her to look.

**'WE ALL FALL DOWN.'**

* * *

**AN : Did any of you see it coming? Just out of curiosity?**


	6. Correction, Its An Admirer

**AN : So I want to apologize to those of you for not properly separating my scenes. I could have sworn I'd separated them with "" that symbol, but the document manager did not save it. So once again, apologize for any of you whom it confused! From now on, scenes will be separated by a bold : XOXO. I want to also thank allllll of you awesome people for leaving me so many reviews. I was seriously blown away with all of the positive feedback I recieved after the last chapter. You are all amazing and fantastic! And I thank you again so much! I hope that as I continue to release chapters, you continue to enjoy reading them! This is by far the longest chapter of the installment yet. Hopefully it will satisfy you guys over this week. I'll have an update for you all next weekend! Thanks again for those of you who are reading and reviewing me!**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated with this story.

_Stalking Casey_

_Part 6 – Correction. It's An Admirer._

* * *

Casey frantically shot up off the bed, tears flooding down her cheeks as she ran over and grabbed her phone off the reciever. She dialed Max's number, but no one picked up.

Derek was watching her. Though, he himself wasn't sure exactly what to make of all this. Had he been wrong about Max being the one? Was someone else really still out there? That would mean...even he had been completely thrown off by this person. Outsmarted. Outdone. How could this have happened? His thoughts were completely interrupted when Casey threw her phone at him, and smacked him in the shoulder.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Derek rubbed his shoulder and glared up at her, "What the hell?"

"You're not even listening to me? See, this is why I'm going to call Emily, and tell her everything!" Casey snapped, glaring right back at him, "She'll listen to every word!"

Derek rolled his eyes. He knew that this behavior emitting from Casey had to be...normal. Girls always get all emotional when they're scared. She needed someone to listen to her every word, rant, ramble. Needed someone to be there to hug her, let her lay her head on their shoulder. Someone who would catch every tear that fell from her face. 

Derek would not be that person.

He stood up from the bed, the small photo book in one hand. "Casey." he looked towards her. She was a pacing wreck. "Don't you understand that this is obviously a joke? Probably being played by Max himself?"

Casey shook her head in disbelief. "A joke!" she stormed over to him and snatched the photo book out of his hand, "Derek how can you say this is a joke!"

Derek glanced at a couple other angles before bringing his eyes back to meet hers. He sighed, and snatched the book back, "Because seriously? Ashes ashes? We all fall down?" He opened the book and his eyes rested on the pictures once more, "These pictures are probably even fake! You can't believe everything that you see!"

Casey shook her head again, "Derek, I'm not listening to you anymore about all this. You have your theories, leads, suspects, movies, whatever!" she snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him, "I'm calling the cops! There is nothing you can do about it!"

Derek sighed in defeat over the verbal argument. However, there was no way Casey was going to get the cops involved under his watch. He waited and watched her pick up the phone from her bed, and as she stood back up to dial the number, he reached out and grabbed a hold of it. "Casey, you are not calling the cops."

Casey still had a firm grip on the phone as well, and she stared at him with one of the most frustrated glances he'd ever seen. "Yes. I am." she tugged, "Let go!"

Derek rolled his eyes boredly. With one tug of hardly any of his true strength applied, he ripped the phone from her hand easily, and tossed it out the window onto the ground outside.

Casey's jaw dropped open, "Why did you do that!"

"Because I don't have time to play any of these elementary games with you Casey." Derek replied. Hey. She asked? He told.

"You know what Derek, all of this sneaking around bullshit of yours, can't call the cops, can't tell anyone?" Casey folded her arms, "Why am I supposed to believe you don't have anything to do with being this 'admirer' and doing all these awful things? Sounds to me you don't want to involve anyone because you don't want to get caught doing something you shouldn't be doing." 

Derek sighed and folded his arms. Great. He'd successfully landed himself a spot back on Casey's mental suspect list.

"These notes that I've gotten, even the things this person says! It all reminds me of you!" Casey was still going on. 

Derek rubbed his eyes, and glanced over at her. It seemed she was waiting for him to throw an excuse out there. Probably just so she could deny it.

"Casey. Listen." Derek started off slowly, "If I was the one doing this, I wouldn't be here right now. I would be out killing Noel, and Max who I still claim is alive, and everyone else who'd ever laid eyes on you. I wouldn't be writing stupid little, poetical notes. I wouldn't waste the time IM-ing you. I would just come and get you. I live in the same damn house as you." Derek explained, watching Casey's facial expressions change as he went through the speech he had actually somewhat mentally prepared. He'd had a feeling this time would come eventually.

Casey still couldn't get rid of the horrible feeling she felt over Max. Though she was still listening to Derek, a part of her wanted to run to his house, to see if he really was there. To see if Derek was right again and this was all just a joke. Still, with this kind of thing? Photos like this? Why was Derek still denying her the right to call the police? Even if it was a joke they should investigate. Then they would know for sure.

"Did you get all that?" Derek asked her, but didn't wait for a reply, "Good. Because I'm not going over it again." He went to leave the room, but was stopped.

"Derek? I'm sorry. I'm just really scared."

He turned back around to glance at her. Her eyes once again held the look of crying, however, this time instead of being frustrated and scared, they held the expression of being lonely and sad. He hated this shit. These were the kinds of moments and those were the kinds of expressions that did things to him. Of all the girls he had ever met in his lifetime, she was the one and only that could do these things. To make him want to love and protect her until the end of time. Well...Derek was going to do that. He just wasnt going to tell anyone he was going to do that. And he preferred it that way. He sighed, and motioned her over, "Come here."

Casey gave him a strange glance, and he rolled his eyes. "Just come on Case."

She complied this time, and did not expect him to do what he did next. Reluctantly and seemingly against his will, he reached his arms out and wrapped them around her.

Well. She was a perfect fit in his arms. Derek made mental note of that as he nervously patted her back a few times. He didn't even know how to act. And it was only with her. With everyone else, it was a piece of cake. This...was just...wierd.

"Casey? Don't you ever say I'm a heartless jerk." Derek mumbled out, allowing her to return the hug.

"Fine." Casey huffed. She had thought of making an attempt to lay her head on his chest, but she wasn't going to push it. This alone seemed pretty unlike Derek. But she could tell a part of him struggled to do it in the first place. 

She heard him sigh heavily. She couldn't tell if he was enjoying it, or repulsed by it. But she figured it was a little bit of both. 

"Wait this out, and we'll see if Max is in school tomorrow." 

It was her turn to sigh. She had no clue why, but she found herself once again going out on a limb and trusting Derek, "Okay." she said, before breaking the hug. "But if he's not there, I'm calling the cops."

"No. You'll call his mother." Derek ordered, "See if she's talked to him. Because for all we know he could be absent for weeks just to make this believable."

Derek once again noticed discouragement and fear cross Casey's features and he sighed again. 

"You have to understand Casey, that Max got a piece of my mind today." Derek explained, drawing her eyes to him again, "And this is probably his way of making you suffer for it. You did say that he felt replaced by me, right?"

Casey nodded as she reminisced the entire conversation between her and Max. It had been emotional, stressful, and all kinds of upsetting.

"See? So. He's got to be doing this as a prank just to make you feel regretful and bad that you haven't paid him the attention he personally wants." Derek replied, "Though I don't understand because since you've been dating him, he's hogged you to himself." 

Casey watched as his expression turned into a frown. Since when did Derek know so much about life in general? And why people do the things they do? He now seemed to be mumbling profanities under his breath, but when he noticed her eyes on him, he abruptly stopped. "I'm going to take a shower. You should sleep."

"As good as that sounds..." Casey sighed, "I don't think I'm going to be able to get much sleep."

"Well you should at least lie down and try." Derek folded his arms, now getting back into his usual, 'order-Casey-around', cocky self. 

"I can't just...lie down and try after a day like this!" Casey snapped back, "And I don't take orders from you!"

"Casey." Derek said firmly, pointing a finger at her, "If you're not lying down in your bed, trying to sleep by the time I get out of the shower, I'm going to tie you to it, and then you won't have a choice."

With that, Derek spun on his foot and walked through her doorway towards the bathroom. He heard her huffing, puffing, and mumbling things under her breath, and this brought a smirk to his face. "Goodnight Casey!"

The next morning, Derek stumbled into the kitchen, half asleep still, yawning. It was way too early. To his surprise, he found Casey already in there, scurrying around, pouring glasses of orange juice and making chocolate pancakes.

Derek took a seat and simply observed her. It wouldn't be long before she noticed he was there. And the moments where he could just watch her, he took great pride in. She was so responsible, so task oriented. She took care of people. She was going to make a great wife to a very lucky guy someday. He watched as she accidentally spilled some of the orange juice she was pouring onto the floor. 'Damn it.' She murmured, grabbing a washrag from the sink and bending down to wipe it up. 

He chuckled slightly, and Casey shot up from behind the counter to see Derek's smirking, beaming face. "Are you laughing at me?"

"Not at all." Derek replied, suppressing his smirk, "But uh, don't you think it's a little early to be performing so many duties at once?"

"Do you want chocolate pancakes, or not?" Casey snapped, throwing the rag into the sink.

"Well yeah I'm already looking forward to them now. I was just saying." Derek answered back, hopping up out of the chair to assist her. He grabbed the spatula off the counter.

"What are you doing? Give me that." Casey asked, before grabbing the spatula away from him. 

Derek held his hands up, "Fine, fine. You want to do it all? I'm not complaining."

Casey turned to flip some of the pancakes, and Derek folded his arms and continued to stand beside her, watching. She seemed to be so full of energy, yet so off balance at the same time. He tried to get a good glance towards her eyes, and while her head was turned all he could see was that she was squinting slightly. Just as he thought. He backed up and sat on the counter, "So how long have you been up?"

"What? Uh.." Casey acted nervous at the sound of his question, but tried to play calm, "20 minutes."

"You're a liar."

"No, you are, remember?"

Derek rolled his eyes. The girl drove him completely crazy. "Did you even sleep at all?"

"I slept a little." Casey replied, "But forgive me if visions and photos of Max's car on fire weren't haunting me."

Derek sighed again and folded his arms over his chest. "Well whatever. Listen, I have to work tonight. So I hope you don't mind spending 4 hours at Smelly Nelly's."

Casey glared at him, "Of course I mind!" she snapped, watching him sigh, "Derek I am not going to sit around your workplace for your entire shift! And what about Edwin?"

"Edwin is the least of my worries. He doesn't have some stalker after him." Derek replied, grunting at her loud voice.

"Correction. It's an 'admirer'." Casey stated in return.

Derek glanced towards her, "Casey I think it's safe to say that whoever it is, has crossed that line of secret admirer."

"I refuse to believe I have a stalker. Derek." Casey responded, taking the skillet in hand, and walking over to place the just finished pancakes on Derek and Edwin's plates.

"Well, I hate to believe it too, but I'm pretty sure we're dealing with one." Derek followed her and took his seat back at the counter again.

"Dealing with what?" Edwin asked, yawning as he walked into the kitchen and sat down beside Derek.

"Nothing." Derek replied.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Because Edwin was already fascinated and excited about the chocolate pancake breakfast Casey had made for them. He looked up at her, "Casey! You're the most amazing person ever! Thanks!" he got out of his chair and scurried over to hug her.

"You're welcome Edwin." Casey replied, using her free arm to wrap around him, and return the hug.

Derek glared at his younger brother. He had this huge smile plastered across his face as he was hugging her. Derek wasn't going to deal with this. He cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow, "Enjoying that hug a little too much there, aren't you Edwin?"

Edwin's eyes shot open towards Derek, "You're just mad because you never get to hug her."

Derek could not believe Edwin was acting so gutsy towards him lately. He watched his younger brother stick his tongue out at him, and Casey gently pushed him back in the direction of his chair, "Eat them before they're cold Edwin."

Edwin took his seat beside Derek again, who still continued to glare at him. 

Derek was done putting up with Edwin's fake and phony attitude lately. And it was going to all come to a screeching halt as soon as he had the opportunity to get Edwin alone.

Luckily for him, that time came quickly, as Casey announced she was going up to her room to change for school. After she vacated, Derek turned in his seat slightly to face the young boy who was practically inhaling the pancakes.

"So what the hell is your deal." Derek bluntly stated, more so than asked.

Edwin glanced at him with a mouthful of food and shrugged, "What are you talking about?"

"All of a sudden you're so nice to Casey with your flattering comments and other bullshit." Derek replied, taking a bite of his own pancakes.

Edwin took a drink of his orange juice, "I don't know, I just don't think anyone gives her enough credit for all she really does around here."

"Enough credit?" Derek rolled his eyes as he repeated Edwin's excuse, "You don't just have feelings like this out of the blue. Last week you were helping me lock her in the games closet and now you're sucking up." Derek stated, "If you feel bad for what you did just say you're sorry and drop the act."

"I'm not acting bro, I just…feel like she should be more appreciated." Edwin finished, before dumping the remains of his pancakes into the trashcan. He then took his plate over to the sink, "Especially for having to deal with you all the time."

"What was that Ed?" Derek put his hand behind his ear through a mouthful, "Care to repeat that?"

Edwin shook his head and left the kitchen.

Something wasn't right with the kid. And come hell or high water, Derek was going to figure it out.

Emily had met up with Casey at her locker before classes, and told Casey that if she was free after school, that she'd love to go shopping. Of course, Casey was excited and ecstatic to go, and agreed almost instantly. If Derek didn't like it…well…he'd just have to deal with it. 

Come lunch time, she'd already spilled the news to him, and as much as he didn't want her to go, he knew that Casey getting away and spending some time with Emily would probably benefit her quite a great much. Of course, he'd manipulated her into agreeing to come straight to Smelly Nelly's afterwards, seeing as she was 'lucky he was even approving of this to begin with.' To be at the mall unsupervised was a stretch, and while Casey knew that, she was certain that a public place like the mall wouldn't be anywhere for an 'admirer' to make a move. Though they both knew he'd probably be there. Watching. 

One person she still hadn't seen at school so far that day was Max. She still had a horrible feeling that something had happened to him, but Derek kept reassuring her that it was all 'part of an act'. She stood nervously now, outside of Paul's office, waiting to go inside for her usual appointment.

"Casey seriously, just go in, talk about the normal nonsense you do, and get out. I'll be waiting right here." Derek assured her, watching her clutch her stomach in a nervous manner.

"Why should I believe that?" Casey glared, watching him raise an eyebrow, "You have the patience of…well you really don't have any at all."

Derek rolled his eyes, "Its fine. Sam and Ralph should be here any minute. I told them to meet up with me so I'd have someone to talk to."

Casey then sighed, a feeling horrible that people were changing their schedules for her, "Derek this is probably all wrong. And I feel terrible for suspecting so many people who I know and care about. Paul is awesome. You can just go to the lunchroom. I'll be fine."

"Shut up and go inside. It's okay that you suspect everyone. It's probably the only thing keeping you safe right now…the fact that you don't trust everyone under the sun." Derek replied, "Stop feeling bad about pointless things, and just go have your appointment. It'll be good for you."

Casey nodded and swallowed hard before walking inside Paul's office.

"Hello Casey." Paul greeted, taking a sip of his coffee and placing it down on his desk. "What's been going on?"

Casey sighed, looking as if she was on the verge of crying, "Paul?" 

Paul raised an eyebrow and gave out a polite, "Yes?"

Casey plopped down in the chair in front of his desk. "Did you ever accuse anyone of something that they didn't do? Then feel horrible because your mind had just been placing heavy paranoia on you for no reason?"

Paul titled his head slightly, "Well. I can't say that any personal experiences relate to yours, however, being paranoid is something that can happen really easily to a person. Especially when they've been put under stress or been wronged...or even been made to feel uncomfortable or like they're not safe. That person will then develop a concept in their mind to not trust anyone, and be suspicious of those around."

Casey listened intently to what he was saying, before shifting in her chair, "Well say there's this…someone. Who…seems to show an interest in you." Casey began, watching his facial expressions change as she laid out the scenario, "And they won't tell you who they are, but they seem to be doing everything they possibly can to get that across, even involving your friends or people you know."

"Go on." Paul gave her the go ahead.

"Well say this someone is starting to make you uncomfortable. And because they won't reveal their identity, you're now thinking that it could be anyone, even your friends or the people you care about." Casey finished.

"Oh you mean like a secret admirer?" Paul answered in the form of a question and watched her nod in response. "Something you have to understand about secret admirers is that it's usually just a phase. They will come into your life for a short time, and use the people and friends around you as tools to get across words or a point, that they feel they personally can't tell you." Paul paused in between explanations, noticing that Casey seemed truly and genuinely very interested in what he had to say, so he continued, "Usually it's always just harmless crushing. And the person being admired will usually get strange phone calls, sometimes notes. But it never lasts for too long, because an admirer will jump to another interest."

He watched as Casey nodded before turning to glance over her shoulder. She could faintly hear the sounds of Ralph, Derek, and Sam outside. She turned back to face Paul, who was giving her a questioning glance."I'm guessing that you're experiencing an admirer, and it's caused you to be suspicious of everyone?"

"I guess you could kind of say that." Casey replied, organizing the few items that were on his desk.

"Has this admirer threatened you or done anything to danger you or your friends?" Paul went on to ask her.

Casey glanced up at him for a moment. She wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to so bad. Just to think, this would probably all end if she could just tell him the truth. But she shook her head, "Not…really. I mean, I've gotten some notes."

Paul nodded, "Well your behavior right now is perfectly normal. And you'll more than likely continue to feel this way until they reveal themselves, or it all just stops. But you said he hasn't threatened or caused any permanent damage, so you probably have nothing at all to worry about."

Casey nodded in response, "Thanks."

"So what's new on the subject of Derek?" Paul asked, waiting for her to unload all her cares and concerns of the issue onto him.

"Well…" Casey began, "Max broke up with me because he felt I replaced him with Derek."

"Really?" Paul asked, as he folded his arms and leaned onto the desk. "He actually said that?"

Casey nodded, "I don't understand it, because I devoted so much time to Max. Yet…he said he felt like the third wheel to Derek and I."

"I see." Paul replied, "Well, Casey. Though I don't see the point in him breaking up with you before talking it out really well, I do understand why he could feel that way."

"You do?" Casey asked, watching him nod in response.

"Think about it for a minute. You live with Derek. And whether or not you enjoy talking about Derek, you do probably more than you think." Paul explained, "Even though you may not enjoy spending time with Derek, you do probably more than you think."

"Are you saying Max was right?" Casey asked Paul, with narrowed eyes.

Paul held up his hands, "I'm just saying consider those things. You may find what he says more true than you think. I'm not taking sides. My job though according to you is to burst bubbles."

Casey laughed slightly, "Yeah I guess."

"You seem strangely okay with the fact that you and Max broke up though." Paul noted, bringing the subject back to her attention.

"Well…I spent a while crying last night about it." Casey confessed, "I guess I just figure if I give him time, he'll come back and want to talk about it."

'If he's even still alive.' Casey mentally thought, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

Paul noticed her expressions changing, and the fact that her eyes were beginning to redden. He extended the tissue box towards her, "Tissue's are free."

Casey took one and wiped her eyes, "Thanks Paul. And I'm sorry. I just really feel like my life has been so out of control. And…my mom and Lizzie have been gone for what seems like forever…"

Paul nodded, "I would call your mom tonight. Talk to her and Lizzie for a bit. Just relax. You need to remember they're only gone temporarily. I remember you saying they extended their trip visit. And part of the way you feel is probably all because you've been away from them for so long."

Casey nodded, and tried to contain the sobs, but the tears kept running out of her eyes. She was tired of crying lately. She was just tired. She wanted to escape to an island for a weekend with her mom and Lizzie and act as if no one else in the world existed. Okay. So that wasn't entirely true. There were a few people she wouldn't be able to do without. But still.

"Remember that relying on Derek sometimes isn't such a bad thing. He's really what you have right now. So don't be afraid to confide in him. As much as you may not want to." Paul finished up, as he watched Casey stand from her chair. 

"Thanks Paul." Casey said, as she turned to make her way towards the office door.

"And Casey?" 

Casey spun back around and noticed Paul motioning her back over. "I normally don't do this." She watched as he took out a small piece of paper, and scribbled something down, "But if you need anything, you can call me at home." He extended the paper to her.

"Oh." Casey smiled and took the paper, "Paul, I couldn't…"

"No no, it's fine Casey. You seem to be going through a lot, and without your mom or Lizzie home, then I'd be glad to help you out if you need it. You can come over and we'll talk or we can go get coffee or dinner or something." Paul explained with a smile. "It's not like I'm ever busy at home alone anyway."

He laughed slightly, and Casey followed the example and laughed slightly. Even though that entire exchange had been so strange. She gave him a slight wave, "Well…thanks."

"Anytime." Paul replied, watching her walk out the door. "Anytime."

When Casey walked out the door, she folded up the piece of paper and stuck it in her bag.

"What was that?" Derek greeted, watching her approach him, Sam, and Ralph.

"Nothing." Casey replied, sniffling a little. 

"Well Paul has got one thing on me." Derek said with a smirk, "He can handle watching the tears."

Casey frowned, "That makes him more of a man."

"No it makes him more of a woman."

Casey rolled her eyes, as an arm was slung around her shoulder, "Well m' lady, looks like I'll be attending the mall with you today."

Casey glared at Derek, "You told Ralph to come to the mall with me?"

Derek shrugged and was about to explain, when Sam interrupted, "I think it's one of the best ideas he's ever had, with what's been going on."

Casey sighed, "You told them everything?" 

"I had to. It's not like they didn't already know something. They were part of the discussion when everything first started happening Case. Besides, they want to help." Derek defended.

"That's right." Ralph responded, "No one will get you as long as I'm around!"

Casey faintly smiled, but clearly it could not hide the glare she was still giving Derek, "Ralph, Sam, could you please excuse us for a moment?"

They both nodded and she gripped Derek's jacket and pulled him along with her a couple feet down, "How could you?"

"What Casey? I did this so you'd be safer, and Emily will be safer too." Derek was on the defense again.

"Derek, if I can't escape from this situation for the couple hours I would have gotten to while with Emily, then I'm going to lose my mind!" Casey snapped in response. She was not at all thrilled with the way Derek was controlling things. 

"And you can! It's not like he's going to be in the middle of you two! I just told him to kind of keep an eye on you from a distance." Derek told, "Sam would be going too if he didn't already have plans."

Casey sighed, "Right. Whatever. I don't care anymore." She turned to walk off down the hallway, leaving Derek to stand there, feeling bad about the entire situation. 

He knew she was really riding on the edge of a breakdown at this point. But if anything happened to her? He would have a breakdown. What was he to do? He wasn't going to be able to supervise her while at the mall tonight. He didn't want anything to happen to her at all. She obviously didn't understand that.

**XOXO**

As upset as Casey had been about Ralph tagging along, he'd actually made the mall trip much more enjoyable than thought. He'd made them laugh, bought their ice cream, and was even carrying their bags. And just as Derek had said, he'd given them their privacy when they wanted it, while still keeping them within safe sight. 

They were sitting at the food court now, having a slice of pizza. Ralph was sitting several tables away, but still had their table in his view, and had gotten distracted by a couple of young girls from school.

Casey and Emily laughed as they watched him attempt flirting. 

"Not that I mind it," Emily said between laughs as she turned back to face Casey, "But explain to me again why Ralph is here with us?"

"Oh." Casey said as she played with the straw in her milkshake, "It's a long story."

"Well that's why we're out together today is so we can catch up! So go ahead. Explain this long story to me." Emily urged with a smile.

Casey looked over at her and smiled. At this point, she was at an inner war with her thoughts on whether or not to tell Emily. She certainly wanted to. But what would Derek say? 

Sighing, she realized that if Derek was upset, he'd get over it. He'd told Sam and Ralph everything. And she needed more than anything to talk to someone who would listen, and be nice about it. It's not that she was looking for sympathy. It's just that she needed to tell someone she chose to tell. Someone she knew wouldn't throw theories or ideas in her face. Or tell her what to do about it. So she took a deep breath and smiled over at her, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Of course!" Emily responded, "Seriously, you've told me crazy things before. I haven't died of a heart attack or shock yet."

**XOXO**

Derek was happy to see Ralph and Casey finally arrive at Smelly Nelly's a couple hours later. It was nearing 7, and to tell you the truth, Derek had been a nervous wreck his entire shift so far. He noticed Ralph had several bags in his hands. What a chump. He'd somehow managed to be suckered into carrying Casey's bags. Though, it might not have taken much at all. Ralph had always thought Casey was good looking. She may have just simply smiled at him, and he offered himself to do it. 

He made his way over to the two of them. "Thanks again Ralph."

"Hey no problem D man, I had a good time." Ralph replied, sitting Casey's bags down at the booth next to them. "She's all yours." He patted Derek's shoulder, and turned to Casey, "Take care."

"Thanks Ralph." Casey replied, waving towards him as he walked out of the restaurant.

"So what did you do? Buy half the shopping mall?" Derek asked, glancing over at her bags.

"Please." Casey replied, rolling her eyes, "In my dreams."

Derek shook his head and turned back towards Sally, "Hey, Sally, tell the Boss Man I'm taking my break please."

Sally nodded, and Derek shuffled into the booth across from Casey. "Well, did you get anything that was actually worth the money?"

"Of course." Casey replied, as her gaze went from annoyed to troubled in one second, "I do have something to confess to you though."

Derek raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, "I really don't like the sound of that."

Casey took a deep breath and braced herself for any reaction. As soon as she opened her mouth to tell Derek that she'd told Emily, Sally scooted into the seat beside Derek. "Hey, do you guys mind if I join you? I told boss I'd take my break too if you didn't mind."

Derek was mentally cursing, however he smiled at Sally, "We don't mind at all."

Casey shook her head with a smile, "No, please, it'll be nice to talk to you again for a bit. It's been a while for us."

"Yes it has." Sally responded with a smile, "You've been shopping I see."

"Yeah." Casey replied. "There were some sales at the mall."

Derek sighed, and propped his head up with his hand as they continued their senseless jabbering. He couldn't help but wonder what it was Casey wanted to tell him. Maybe she had called Max's mother and she hadn't heard from him. Or perhaps she'd called Max's mother, and she had heard from him. Was that really what it was? The possibilities were endless. And he wasn't going to be able to stand waiting for much longer. Damn it. Sally had the worst possible timing in the world. He took out his cell phone, and dialed home. Though he had spoken with Edwin roughly an hour ago, it never hurt to check on him again.

"Ello?" Edwin greeted.

"Ed, things still going okay at home?" Derek asked into the phone.

He could tell he'd caught Casey's attention, as she was glancing over at him, but her attention was quickly focused back on Sally, and Casey pulled a skirt out of one of her shopping bags to display it towards her.

"Of course, bro, why wouldn't they be?" Edwin responded with another question.

"Just checking. You finished that game yet?" Derek quickly didn't allow suspicion into the conversation.

"Working on it now."

"Alright. Well call if you need to."

"Will do."

"Later."

Derek snapped the his phone shut, and shoved it back into his pocket. The girls were still going on and on about the skirt.

"Derek it's so cute isn't it?" Sally turned to him and asked his opinion.

Derek sighed, "Sure. Why not."

He then went back to boredly propping his head up on his hand. He didn't know why he felt so pressed to know. It's not like he wouldn't get a chance to ask Casey about it later. Still, he hated the unknown with a fiery passion. And this last hour and a half of work was going to be long and strenuous for him, especially if he was wondering what it could be the entire time. 

"My gosh it's been 10 already. Better get back to work right Derek?" Sally asked, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah." Derek responded, waiting for Sally to scoot off of the seat.

She did just that and walked back up towards the front of the restaurant, as Derek moved from the booth, "Are you thirsty or anything?"

Casey nodded, "Sure just bring me a-"

"Water?" Derek asked, "I know. I'll be right back."

She watched Derek walk away and placed her skirt back in one of the bags, before pulling out a magazine she had purchased. She knew she'd need something to keep her entertained, as she figured she would have at least an hour to sit there. Thankfully, Edwin was safe at home and hadn't had any problems that evening as of yet. She had been able to pick up somewhat on the conversation Derek was having with him. And she knew if anything had been urgent or if there had been problems, they would both be on their way home right now.

She also knew Derek must be going crazy at this point over what she needed to tell him. And she'd gone over a hundred scenarios in her head at that point trying to think of an easy way to break the news to him lightly. There really were none. He was going to be upset with her. No avoiding that. 

"_See…lately…there have been some things going on…" Casey began, watching Emily perk up attentively, "And I'm really sorry I didn't tell you sooner…but it all started Friday night."_

"_Uh huh." Emily coaxed, taking a sip of her milkshake._

"_I got an IM from someone. They said I looked pretty at school that day."_

_Emily's eyes widened and a smile came to her face, "Really? Who!"_

"_That's just it, Em. I have no idea who." Casey replied, before continuing, "Anyway, this person, whoever they are, have been leaving me notes…kind of…threatening notes."_

"_Threatening? Like how?" Emily was full of questions already._

"_Well…you remember the dog?" Casey asked, watching Emily frown._

"_Yes."_

"_Well, whoever this person is…they did that."_

_Emily's eyes widened once again, this time in sheer terror, "What? Casey oh my God did you tell the police that?"_

_  
Casey sighed, and shook her head, "No. Derek is dead set on finding this person himself. He thinks that if we involve people, they'll end up being hurt and in danger."_

_Emily gave Casey a questioning glance and shook her head._

_  
"I know Em. I don't understand it either." Casey replied, "He just thinks it's too risky getting people involved."_

"_Well I understand that. But the police? It's their job." Emily replied._

"_I know." Casey answered, and sighed, "I know."_

"_Has this person done anything else?" Emily wondered, and she watched Casey nod._

"_Max broke up with me last night, Em." Casey explained, "And we got these pictures last night. These horrible, awful pictures, of Max's car lit on fire while he was sitting inside of it."_

"_Oh my God, Casey this is serious!" Emily could hardly believe what she was hearing, "I didn't even see Max in school today either!"_

"_I know, but Derek thinks that Max might be this person, and that he's faking to make me feel bad." Casey noticed Emily's look of confusion, and decided to explain further. "Okay, see, Derek told me from the beginning that boyfriends have potential of doing things like this person is, to scaring their girlfriend into committing more. Well, yesterday, Derek ended up I guess saying some things to him that upset him, and last night he called and broke up with me. He said that he felt like the third wheel to Derek and I. Then after that, we got the photos. Derek thinks that Max is just making me feel bad. That it's been him all along, but I don't know Em. Max doesn't seem like the type to do this kind of thing."_

_Emily was still processing the information, "You know, Derek does have a good point, and I hate to say this, but I would wait it out a couple more days too. He was right when he told you boyfriends hold potential for this kind of thing. You know? To get their girlfriends to commit. It happens all the time Casey. And though I can't see Max doing it either…Max is still a guy. He thinks like a guy. You know?"_

_Casey sighed, "I know. I just have this horrible feeling that those pictures do hold the truth. And I'm getting scared Emily. I get more scared by the minute. This has been bothering me since the very first IM even though I've tried not to let it."_

"_Seriously Casey, why didn't you tell me sooner? I mean, I know I'm with Sheldon more than ever now, but you can call me really anytime you need me." Emily told, genuinely wondering why Casey really hadn't called to tell her sooner._

"_I know Em. I'm sorry. It's just been…so stressful. Derek's got like this, vice grip on what I'm doing, where I'm going, and who I'm talking to now. Which … is more caring than he's ever been towards me…but I feel so suffocated at the same time." Casey explained, "I don't want to just break away from him, because he does seem like he's really looking out for me. And if what he's saying is true, then who am I to argue, you know what I mean?"_

_Emily nodded. "Casey honey. I'm glad you came shopping today. You needed it."_

_Casey laughed and nodded, "No kidding."_

"_And you have to promise me right now, that if anything else happens, you will call me. I want to be there for you." Emily said, concern dripping in her voice._

"_I promise Em. I promise."_

She hadn't told Emily about Edwin. Not just yet. Edwin was the type who would fess up to his wrong doings. He hadn't completely followed in Derek's footsteps just yet. So hopefully he'd come clean soon. But other than that, they'd caught up on pretty much everything. Emily had even talked over potential 'suspect' situations with her, and they'd come to the same conclusions that Derek had himself. Maybe Casey should watch a few movies. It seemed like Derek and Emily both knew so much about these things all because they watched movies. Then again, who was to say they were even right about anything at all? Still, it for some reason had made her feel so much better to talk to Emily about it.

"Here's your water." Derek plopped the bottle down on the table in front of her, "Boss is letting me leave so I'm going to put my name badge up and I'll be out."

Casey nodded in response. She'd been so deep in her thoughts, she'd almost forgotten what had been really going on around her. Of course, she was overtired. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. What she needed was a good night's sleep, Lizzie, and her mom. And who knew when she could have all three at the same time again. Hopefully sooner than later. She wished her mom would call and tell her she was coming home soon, that she'd be there in a couple hours. But she knew that wasn't going to happen.

During the walk home, Derek had been huffing and clearing his throat to drop signals at Casey. But she'd been purposely avoiding them so far. Not only was she avoiding the situation, but he'd gotten stuck carrying half her bags for her. How it happened? He didn't even know. But he'd had enough with being patient, and finally, he just came out and asked, "So what did you need to tell me?"

Casey bit her bottom lip. She knew the time would come, and it was now or never. Casey lived strongly by the influence that if one was guilty for something, they should come clean as quickly as possible. So, swallowing hard, she belted it out, "ItoldEmilyeverything."

Derek raised an eyebrow and gave her a strange glance, "Okay. What?"

Casey sighed, "I told Emily everything."

Derek had stopped walking, and Casey stopped and glanced down at the ground, "I'm sorry."

"You told Emily." Derek ground out, "Why would you tell Emily?"

He was furious. She knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

"You realize now that she could be in danger?" Derek seethed.

"Yes Derek I realize that!" Casey snapped, glaring up at him, "But for once I wanted to be able to tell someone what was going on because…because…" she paused, and Derek watched her with amusement as she searched for an excuse, "Because I need it!"

Derek rolled his eyes, "That's your pathetic excuse?" He held his arms out to his sides, "Because you needed it?"

Casey laughed slightly, "See I knew you wouldn't understand even if I did try to explain myself! You never understand and that's the majority of the reason why!" she continued, "I needed to talk to somebody who would understand! You can't be that person for me obviously, so I told someone who could!"

"Oh come on Casey is talking about something like this what you really need?" Derek argued, watching her throw the bags on the ground in a huff.

"Yes Derek! I needed to do it because I felt like it!" Casey fought back, "Because my life is so out of control right now, and I wanted to make that decision! I wanted to talk about it not when you chose to, but when I chose to! I wanted to tell someone I wanted to tell, not someone you wanted me to tell!" she paused and tried to calm down for a moment, "And you know what I wouldn't have even told Emily either because I am worried I've put her in danger! But we can't call the cops, and normally the two people I do talk and vent my frustrations to, I can't even do that right now because they aren't here!" she was then on the verge of hysterics. And Derek could tell she was trying to be upset more than anything, but all she wanted to do was cry. Even that, she was fighting. 

Derek walked towards her, but she took a few steps back, "Just don't right now Derek. I'm doing my best not to cry in front of you but if you come over here I can't promise you that I'm not going to attempt to cry on your shoulder. God forbid." She held a hand up, motioning for him to halt his steps.

Derek stood there a moment, contemplating on what he should do. Should he hug her again? Should he stand there and give her the space she wanted? Should he apologize? What? At this point he didn't know. All he knew was that if he didn't decide fast, Casey was going to have a nervous breakdown. Right there on the sidewalk. 

He felt like he was being too kind and caring towards her lately. And he hated himself at this moment, because he was getting to witness truly the amount of stress that was weighing on her. He had no idea she was carrying this much of a burden. Though he knew she had been feeling somewhat stressed. Sometimes, he thanked God he was so carefree. But this hadn't been an easy ride for him either. He'd been upset and concerned for her since the beginning. And he couldn't wait until this was all over when he could beat the living, fucking, shit out of the person that was causing this. 

Still, he couldn't kid himself anymore. He cared for Casey. He did want to be there for her. He wanted to keep her safe. Protect her. And half the stress that was weighing on her now was because of him. How dare he?

Casey was leaned over with her hands on her knees, doing her best to maintain her composure, and keep it as together as she could. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and glanced up at Derek. He'd been ordering her around all week, and yet he couldn't just do her one simple favor and give her some space for a moment?

"Casey." Derek began. He stopped.

She could tell he was struggling to say whatever it was he needed to say next. His next actions shocked her. He placed the bags on the ground and yanked her into another hug. That was 2 hugs in 2 days. Hell was freezing over twice. "Cry."

Casey stood completely still, "What?"

She felt Derek sigh, "If you need to cry. Please do so. And hurry before I have a change of heart."

"Derek, you-"

"Yes, I am being serious. As long as I don't have to actually watch you…I'm sure I'll find ways to deal with it."

In all truth, that was a lie. Derek wasn't going to be able to deal with it well. At all. And he didn't feel like he necessarily owed it to her…as much as he felt like he needed to do this to prove to her that he was sorry. Sorry for ever making her feel like he was trying to control her too much. Sorry that she didn't have the people she needed there with her. Sorry he couldn't be the person she needed. 

As they stood there in an embrace, someone from afar watched the display. And needless to say,�they were�getting very jealous.


	7. Speak No Evil

**AN : Wowweee I'm sorry this took so long guys. It's been roughly a little under a week since my last update, and between working soooo much, I was totally against just throwing something together to give you guys a sooner update. I believe quality and not quantity! Lol. Anywho, got some humor, some drama, and some creep to this chapter. Don't really have time to write a longer AN, but I just want to thank all the readers and reviewers once again, for sticking with Stalking Casey for so long, and not seeing it as just some lame horror tale. I thank you all so very much!**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part 7 – Speak No Evil_

* * *

The next day, after getting a semi-good sleep, Casey walked into the school feeling somewhat refreshed. Not only had she gotten to spend some time with Emily, but Derek had allowed her to be emotional. And he hadn't pushed her away. Though she knew by his reactions afterwards, he was in an odd state of mind. She didn't understand quite completely how someone could be so shut off towards that kind of emotion. After all, there were even men out there who were emotional and cried. But he was. He had said very little the rest of that evening.

Something else that excited her, was that it was Thursday. Which meant it would only be 3 and a half more days until her mom and sister would be back home. That was a moment she could barely wait for. As she walked down the hallway with her newfound attitude of the day, she didn't even notice the strange stares she was recieving from fellow students who occupied their locker spaces. It wasn't until one of them stepped out and made the remark of "Casey, you look very pretty today." in a cocky, faked creepy voice that it all caught her attention.

People were huddled together, some in groups, whispering and watching her. Some of them were lone, by their lockers, just staring. Some would be smirking, some would have this blank look on their faces.

She was beginning to get extremely uncomfortable, and thanked God when she made it safely to her locker. Some of the looks people had been giving her had been more than unnerving. What was up with them? She shook her head to herself and brushed it off as she spun the combination into her lock. When she opened her locker, she screamed piercingly. Students surrounded her locker to see what the commotion was all about. Some of them started laughing. The others covered their mouths to stop themselves from laughing.

Someone had gotten the combination to her locker, and inside of it, in some kind of malicious prank, had hung a stuffed dog from the top of it. Someone had also stuck sewing needles all throughout it. Casey felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and she leaned over to catch her breath, ignoring the crowd of students laughing behind her.

Who would do this? Who would play such a horrible joke on her?

Derek, who had been walking alongside Sam and Ralph, noticed particuarly that there was a surprising amount of students huddled in one group. And they were awfully close to Casey's locker.

"What's going on over there?" Sam narrowed his eyes, trying to make anything out of the scattered laughter and mumbling coming from the crowd of students.

"I don't know, but isn't Casey's locker over there?" Ralph responded, also watching with interest.

Derek quickly walked ahead of the two of them, and forced his way through the seemingly large crowd, shouting, 'move its!' and 'watch outs!'

His jaw dropped in shock when his eyes landed on the stuffed dog, and he felt the anger burning inside him. He leaned down and whispered, "Are you alright?" in his step-sister's ear, and upon seeing her nod of response, he stood back up and spun around, glaring daggers at the group of students who found humor in such a ridiculous stunt.

Sam and Ralph plowed their way through the group, and Emily and Sheldon emerged from one side of the crowd as well, watching on in awe. Derek was standing in front of Casey protectively, still glaring, and the students picked up on this, their laughter all coming to a halt.

"Who the hell did this?" Derek asked, seething in fury, his eyes darting around to examine the entire crowd.

Everyone remained silent. Most of them glanced towards the ground almost shamefully. Ralph glanced behind him at some of the students gathered around. Sam was focused on Casey, who was doing her best to try not to cry in front of everyone. She had crouched down into a kneel, and was sighing. Things on her had been hard enough, and now this.

Emily cuffed her arm in Sheldon's, with a look of pure fear and concern on her face. She knew that Derek was beyond pissed at this point, and in all honesty, wasn't sure if someone wouldn't walk away hurt. Noel was just entering the scene. He had noticed when he got a good enough view, that there was a stuffed dog with pins through it, hanging out of Casey's locker. He briefly caught a glance as well of Sam running to Casey's side, who was kneeling down on the floor. He looked to be asking her questions, as he could see her nodding in response to him. He watched as Sam's hand rubbed Casey's back in attempts to comfort her. Derek was standing straight up, glaring down the entire crowd.

"No one wants to confess?" Derek stated, walking closer to a few of the students, "Maybe you should all form a line then, and one by one I'll start kicking every one of your asses."

The couple of students directly in front of him backed up slightly. While everyone in school knew of Derek's reputation of popularity, and the whole 'bad boy' image, none of them had ever witnessed Derek's true anger. Especially when it came to his step-sister Casey. They'd have never guessed he'd be on the defending side. Hell, more than half of them were certain he would laugh alongside them when he witnessed the scene at the locker.

"What the heck is all the ruckus down here?" came a stray voice, who was parting the crowd from the side.

Derek rolled his eyes upon seeing the principal enter the circle, Tinker following closely behind him, and he backed up off of the students slightly.

"Derek Venturi what have you done this time?" he questioned, giving Derek that strict look he'd seen many times since he'd started attending at Thompson High.

"Not me this time." Derek huffed out, folding his arms.

"Well I assure you all that you have classes to get to, so I suggest heading that direction." the true voice of authority stated, and upon that, the students began to shuffle their seperate ways.

"And just what is this?" the principal questioned, as he set his eyes upon Casey's open locker.

"Nothing sir, I assure you its under control." Sam responded, taking Casey's hand and pulling her to her feet.

"It better be." The principal finished, before heading back towards the office, still hurrying some of the slower students along.

Tinker had caught sight of the locker scene, but hadn't said a word. He continued to follow the principal back towards the office, and after that, all he could do was let his free mind wonder what had happened at the beautiful Casey McDonald's locker.

When the crowd finally dissapated, only a few people remained standing there. Sam, Ralph, Emily, Sheldon, Noel, Derek, and Casey. It was like they were all frozen. Stuck in that spot. Derek ran his hands through his hair in frustration, still overflowing with hints of anger as he paced around.

Noel swallowed hard, his face overflowing with concern as he glanced between everyone. He was a little nervous to approach Casey at all, with Derek standing there. And after their most recent conversation, it probably wasn't smart to attempt talking to her, but he figured he'd try anyway. He carefully took a few steps in her direction, often looking towards Derek to make sure he wasn't glaring at him.

"What's going on hun?" Sheldon asked his worried girlfriend, as his arm rested around her waist.

"I don't know..." Emily responded. She noticed Noel walking towards Casey, and decided she was going to wait a few minutes, seeing as Casey herself still seemed to be trying to calm down. Truth was, Emily knew the significance about the dog hanging in the locker, as she had been informed yesterday. But she wondered...did Noel, Sam, and Ralph know as well?

"Sam, is she okay?" Ralph asked almost nervously. He felt bad for Casey, and this whole situation was just horribly awkward. It was like one huge showdown. Normally he'd crack jokes to lighten the mood, but even he couldn't find the guts to break through the heavy barrier of seriousness that was all upon them.

Sam nodded, and watched Ralph turn on his heel, only to run smack into Kendra, who had already heard the gossip. Luckily they were all still standing there. Ralph steadied her by the shoulders, "Sorry Kendra."

"It's fine." Kendra replied, her eyes scanning the scene, "What happened here?"

Ralph just shrugged in response and pointed towards Casey's locker, "Honestly, I've just been an observer this entire time."

Kendra noted that Ralph was being unnormally serious, and turned to face the scene again. Derek looked beyond furious, Casey looked extremely unsettled, Sam's face was covered with concern as he was standing beside her, Emily and Sheldon were exchanging whispers, and then there was Noel...

"Casey." Noel breathed in relief as he had made it to Casey safely. "Casey, what happened are you alright?"

"Fine." Casey replied. All kinds of flashbacks of the mailbox had flooded her memory. She felt completely uncomfortable at this point, after having reaped the consequences of such a horrid prank. How had anyone at this school found out anything about the dog incident? What had all the students been whispering about earlier? Did they know everything? But how? The only people she'd told was...

Then it struck her. Emily. Her eyes darted over towards where her 'best friend' was standing with Sheldon. Emily wouldn't have. Or would she have? She'd always been good about not spreading anything around that Casey felt was serious. But Emily did thrive on gossip. And she did her fair share of shelling it out. Casey hadn't noticed at first, but she actually at that moment felt herself frowning over at Emily.

"Well do you need to talk?" Noel asked her, reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder, but Sam halted his actions with his hand held up in front of him.

"Dude, just back off, give her room." he ordered. Sam had never had any real beef with Noel, but he could bet money he knew Casey 1,000 times better than him. And right now? Noel was in no position to be pushy about talking to Casey.

Noel ignored Sam's words, and asked once again, "If you need to-"

He felt himself being hauled backwards almost violently, and was met with Derek's cold stare towards him, "Back.The.Fuck.Off."

"Derek..." Casey whispered, as she walked up to him from behind, "Please, don't-"

"Casey stay out of this." Derek said in a seemingly calm voice. However, Casey knew that Derek was containing a very heavy amount of anger. Casey never was one to follow Derek's orders though.

Kendra had taken a few steps towards the scattered circle. She herself knew that if Noel didn't do what Derek had said, things were going to get messy. And hands down, everyone knew who the victor would be.

"Derek stop just leave him alone." Casey then had him around one arm. She knew, like Kendra, that a fight could easily be started. Not mainly because Noel had tried to talk to her either, although Derek never approved of that much anyway, but for the simple fact that Derek was so extremely angry.

Derek's thoughts were...how the hell had someone caught wind of what was going on with Casey right now? He had caught a few people in the hallway mentioning the name 'Casey' when he'd walked in. He'd also caught a 'does Derek know?' So his mind at that point could only assume that the cat had gotten out of the bag. How did anyone find out anything? He was tempted to ask a few people what they had been talking about, but brushed it off thinking it was probably something else. Because he had been careful. Way too careful.

He knew Sam and Ralph couldn't have been talking, because for one? They feared him, and knew that he had no qualms in knocking even his own best friends in the jaw for talking when they shouldn't be. For two? If they were really going to say anything, they would have done so already. It was Thursday and they'd known about this since Monday. If they really were the ones to talk, they would have done so sooner.

Then? Someone pulling a stunt like this? On Casey? Sure he was pissed. Now Noel had the nerve to push the limits and try getting to Casey? After what they had talked about? It was like Noel had taken Derek's words and kicked them to the curb. And Derek didn't like that one bit.

Now Casey was clinging to his side which made matters worse. Any intentions of punching Noel's lights out had now been rained on. Leave it up to her.

Still, they were staring each other down like there was no tomorrow. Ralph had approached and placed a hand on Noel's shoulder, "Dude come on. Split. Now is not the time."

Noel had taken a couple steps back, but was still glaring fiercly at Derek. How dare he try to order him around like that. "I just want to talk to Casey."

"And I just want to beat the shit out of you." Derek seethed, "But we can't all have what we want, now can we?"

Upon their few exchange words, another stare down had ensued.

Casey sighed, tugging on Derek's arm slightly, trying to get him to step back, but he wouldn't budge. This entire situation right now was completely unnecissary.

Derek noted this and decided to say his last piece, "For some odd reason, Casey wants me to spare your dumb ass. So consider yourself lucky."

With that he spun on his heel, taking Casey by the hand and pulling her with him a short distance back to her locker. Casey glanced over her shoulder at Noel, shooting him a completely apologetic look, and Noel picked up on this.

What Noel didn't understand was why Casey seemed so uninterested to talk to him at that moment. Why she had almost defended Derek in a way. Sure, she'd gotten him to refrain from busting his jaw, but at the same time, she hadn't said or done as much as she normally would have. She was allowing him to pull her away from him. Allowing him to control the situation at hand, when normally, she was independent enough to handle it. She would have told Derek to go away and leave her alone, before she'd have told him to do it. Just by her actions, he felt unwelcomed.

He finally tore his gaze away from Derek and Casey, sharing one glance with each Kendra, Emily, Sheldon, Sam, and Ralph, before taking a couple more steps back and heading off down the hallway. Not a single one of them had tried to defend him. They never had made him feel like he fit with them. Though they all knew him by name, all except Casey ever actually made conversation with him. He huffed a few times. Who needed them anyway?

"Give us a few minutes guys." Derek said towards the others who were still standing around.

For some reason, none of them could find it in them to go to class. It's like they'd become comfortably numb in a situation they wanted nothing more to do with.

"Casey." Derek turned to face her, one of his hands resting on her shoulders, "I'm going to find out who did this, but maybe it'd be best to leave school for the day."

Casey shook her head, giving Derek a sharp look, "Are you crazy Derek? I don't skip school. I never have and never will, not even because of what's happened. This changes nothing for me."

Derek sighed, trying to figure a way to explain things to her, "I don't think you understand." He paused for a second to glance at the rest of them, who were still watching, or attempting to make small conversation with each other. When his eyes met hers again he continued, "Because this has gotten out now? You're probably going to be pranked and harassed all day. I mean, you do realize that?"

"Yes Derek I realize it…but it can't be any worse than some of the things that have already happened to me here before." Casey stated, "It took everyone months to stop calling me Klutzilla."

He raised an eyebrow at her statement, and she sighed, "Okay so some of them still do."

Derek thought about her words. He knew that she had gone through some things already in this school, but this? This was far worse, and he knew it would be even harder for her. She wasn't going to be able to handle the harshness he was sure most of the students would deal out to her today. He stood back and folded his arms, "No matter what they say Casey, just do your best to ignore it all."

Casey nodded in agreement, and then narrowed her eyes at him, "And you have to do your best to not get into any trouble. It goes both ways here."

Derek responded with a 'pfft' before turning towards her locker. He examined it while shaking his head before abruptly ripping the stuffed dog out of it.

Kendra now felt it safe to approach Casey, and walked over towards her as she watched Derek squeezing the stuffed dog in his clenched fist. "Casey, you want to walk to class?"

Casey gave a small smile towards Kendra, "Yes…I just need to talk to Emily for a minute."

Kendra nodded, "I'll wait here with Derek."

Casey took a deep breath and made her way over to where Emily and Sheldon were standing. Upon reaching them, she gave Sheldon a glance before looking at the floor, "Sheldon would you give me and Em and minute?"

Sheldon nodded, and quickly vacated over to talk with Ralph and Sam, who had joined up with Kendra and Derek for conversation.

Emily immediately reached out and hugged Casey, who just stood there stiffly. There was no return of the hug, and Emily knew at that moment something was wrong. "Casey, I'm so-" she began.

"Emily, how could you?" Casey interrupted, giving Emily a cold gaze, which in turn, shocked Emily into silence, "I trusted you with what I told you yesterday."

"Casey, what are you talking about?" Emily responded, not quite knowing what Casey was getting at.

"My business is all over school, Em." Casey replied, throwing her arm through the air. "Do you have any idea that almost every one of our classmates is going to try and tear me apart today because of this?"

Emily's eyes then widened in realization of what was going on. Casey was trying to blame her for this getting around. "Casey I promise you I didn't say a word about that to anyone." Emily immediately defended.

Casey folded her arms and shot her a questioning glance, "Not even Sheldon?"

Emily had to glance at the floor for a few seconds. "Okay, maybe I did say something to Sheldon, but I tell him everything. And it's not like he's going to spread things around school."

"So then where's the explanation Em?" Casey threw both her arms through the air this time, "How did it spread?"

"I don't know but I assure you it wasn't by my words." Emily was getting more defensive by the second. And she hadn't even realized it but she'd formed a glare of her own. She hated being accused. She may have told Sheldon, but Casey was blaming her with the responsibility of the school knowing. "I don't know why I'm explaining this to you anyways, I can't believe you don't trust me!"

They had now caught the others attention. Sheldon had actually made a move to jump into the exchange, but Derek had stopped him.

Casey sharpened her look towards Emily. Why was she getting so defensive? She pointed an accusing finger at her, "Yeah well I trusted you not to tell anyone. That includes Sheldon."

Emily's jaw was slightly hanging open. Where was her best friend Casey at? Who was this person standing in front of her accusing her of something she didn't do? Casey had the inability to be cold, and so accusatory. This had to be someone else.

Casey shook her head at Emily's silence, "Derek was right." She paused, tears threatening her, "I shouldn't have even told you."

"Now wait just a minute!" Sheldon wasn't going to stand for it any longer. He marched over and stood between Emily and Casey, glaring in the process, "She hasn't done anything to you Casey!"

Casey blinked a few times. She was taken aback by Sheldon's sudden fierce behavior. Though, she knew it was normal to protect your loved ones when they were being attacked. Physically or verbally.

"Baby, its fine." Emily tried to calm him, but he ignored her. Really in all honesty, it was fine. Although Emily hated the fact that Casey was blaming her for this, she still understood completely why. Casey had been under way too much stress for her to handle. On top of that, she had just chosen to tell her what was going on yesterday. Then the next morning the school knows? Oh yeah. Emily understood alright. She just didn't have to be so mean about it. She wasn't even giving her a chance to talk.

He pointed a finger at Casey, "What gives you the right to blame her for something you know she'd never do?" Sheldon was losing his cool, "Emily goes out of her way for you, and you're pulling this bullshit on her how you can't trust her?!"

"Okay." Derek grumbled, now stepping in front of Casey, "Back off Shlepper, or I'll bust the flap you're overusing right now." He gave Sheldon a slight shove backwards, and Emily caught him enough to balance him.

"I'm not afraid of you Venturi." Sheldon belted out once he was steady on his feet again, "Go ahead."

Derek's fist clenched uncontrollably, and he bit his bottom lip. "Casey has been through enough and she doesn't need both yours and Emily's bullshit."

"Yeah well Emily doesn't need yours either." Sheldon scoffed, "And if Casey was a real friend then she wouldn't blame such a ridiculous thing on her."

"Stop it!" Casey finally snapped, stepping in between the two boys. She placed a palm on each of their chests, trying to create some distance in the middle. They both stepped back slightly, but their gazes never left each other.

"I agree with Casey." Emily said, stepping to Sheldon's side. She still couldn't manage to find a smile to give to her 'best friend', however, the look in her eyes seemed shockingly soft. "Though she obviously doesn't know me like I thought she did, this is pointless."

Sheldon always caved for Emily. So he forced himself to tear his gaze away from Derek. "Better keep a close eye on your little princess Venturi." He stated, taking Emily's hand in his, and beginning to pull her away. He glanced back over his shoulder, "Because when the big bad wolf comes to get her, don't expect me to help you save the day."

With that being said, Sheldon pulled Emily away, and along down the hall. Casey's heart broke as Emily glanced over her shoulder at her and they shared one last glance. Emily was hurt. Casey immediately regretted saying what she had said.

"Come on Case." Derek placed a hand on her shoulder and spun her in the other direction, and she followed him sadly back over to the others again.

"I feel so left out of the circle." Kendra informed, as she glanced between Derek and Casey.

Derek sighed, "Yeah well, that's a good thing."

The day was not at all off to a good start. It had brought almost more stress than receiving creepy notes and photos. Though confrontation never really bothered Derek too much, he couldn't help but feel miserable for almost hitting several people that morning. Casey's influence once again. It really pissed him off sometimes. Still. Nothing that happened so far could top finding a dead dog in a mailbox.

"Dude, let's go to class, I can't afford much more trouble this week." Ralph piped in, and everyone agreed that they should be heading that way.

Casey was still struggling with regret. Why had she even opened her mouth in the first place? Why couldn't she have waited to talk to Emily alone? How could she really blame Emily for the school figuring this out? It was too much right now. Way too much. She only hoped that one day, Emily would find it in her heart to forgive her.

As the day drug on, she realized that Derek had not been joking. People were laying it on thick. With the teasing, the comments, one person even went as far as dressing in some kind of morbid masked outfit to mock her. Now, with it being lunch, she couldn't wait to join Derek. She knew then at least that no one would try to make fun of her. And it was sad she had to rely on him for some peace of mind. It was like the tables had completely turned.

Of course, her appetite was gone, and of course, Derek's wasn't. Nothing could ever really leave him without an appetite. When she joined him at the lunch table, he was in the middle of taking a huge, monster sized bite, out of a sub-sandwich. She rolled her eyes. But it brought a small smile to her face. Being surrounded by fake people all day, only made her more happy that no matter what happened, she could always rely on Derek to be real. "Good?" she asked him, as she sat down across from him. She sat her purse down beside her.

He nodded, and actually finished swallowing his bite before speaking to her. He figured since no one else felt like being considerate to her, he'd give it a whirl. He was pretty sure he was setting a world record for 'hell has frozen over', with the things he had done this week. Hugging her, allowing her to cry, sticking up for her to no end, and now being considerate? Seriously was he inhaling too much bad air?

In all honesty, he had no problem sticking up for her. Being considerate? Eh. He just couldn't make a habit of it. Hugging her? Yeah it was a stretch, but he couldn't deny the fact that it felt sort of nice to have her in his arms. Allowing her to cry? There was just no good explanation for that at all.

"Very." He finally answered her question. He then clapped his hands together once and pointed towards her, "And how are you holding up so far today?"

"Oh. I'm braving it." Casey replied, taking her purse and turning it over on top of the table. Derek watched as a load full of folded up pieces of paper spilled out everywhere. His jaw dropped open slightly.

Casey sighed, "This is just the lunch load. I emptied it out before last class and had almost the same amount."

Derek shook his head. The nerve of people. There had to be at least 50 notes here. He grabbed a few and decided to read them out of amusement. "Have you gotten anything interesting?"

"No." Casey replied, shuffling through a few of them herself. "They're all basically the same. Always along the lines of 'are you missing a dog?', and, 'don't forget to check your mailbox tonight.' "

Derek rolled his eyes dismissively. Honestly, he knew for a fact that everyone at this school had better things to do. Still, he had to give props to Casey for putting up with all of it. Usually she'd be in Paul's office, venting the frustrations out. It then struck his mind as odd. Why wasn't she in Paul's office right now? "So why aren't you seeing your shrink about all the mental abuse you've been taking on today?"

Casey found that she couldn't answer Derek on this one. She had cancelled the rest of her appointments this week earlier that day. Even then she hadn't faced Paul, she had simply slipped a note underneath his door. She knew eventually she was going to have to bite the bullet and see him again, but yesterday had just been…so strange. She needed a few days to process that information.

But now here stood another bump in the road. Her step-brother was giving her those eyes that expected an answer to the question he'd asked. And what exactly was she supposed to say?

"I just, decided not to see him for the rest of this week." She informed quickly, glancing through some more of the locker notes nervously.

Derek read right through her. One advantage he had for sure, was that he could tell when something was wrong with her. "Oh Casey." He smirked over at her, and rested his face on his hand, "Why do I not believe you?"

Casey met his gaze for a split second, but no more than that. She coughed slightly, "I don't know."

"I'll tell you why." He leaned over the table towards her, and smashed his hand down on top of hers, keeping it from shuffling through anymore notes. When she looked up at him again, he finished his statement, "Cause you seem to be shaking slightly. And you only do that when you're nervous and are hiding something."

Casey swallowed hard, but her eyes stayed glued to Derek's. She absolutely hated these moments. When he'd catch her like this. Completely off guard. It brought out an emotion in her that she normally kept hidden and stuffed away. His hand remained on hers, and she could feel his hot breath upon her. He knew what it did to her. It was moments like these when she wanted to grab his handsome, attractive face and just-

"Well? Am I right or am I right?"

Count on Derek to ruin everything. She blinked a few times and shook her head, giving him a repulsed expression, "No the only reason I'm shaking is because you have bad breath and you slapped my hand." She waved her free hand in front of her face, "Now can you back off?!"

"Well that depends on whether or not you're going to tell me the truth." Derek cocked his head to the side, still having no intentions of moving quite yet. He caught her other hand as well, "Now how will you wave the smell away?"

It didn't take long for her to cave, "Alright alright!"

"Good." Derek stated, before releasing her hands and sitting back down on the seat.

Casey glared at him for a moment before sighing, "Well, I just kind of don't want to see Paul."

Derek raised an eyebrow, and decided to help her along, "And the reason for that is…?"

"He kind of…made me a little uneasy during our session yesterday." Casey told him slowly.

Derek sighed. He hated it when she wanted to beat around the bush, "By doing what?"

Casey took one last deep breath before belting out, "He gave me his phone number and told me we could meet outside of school or he'd take me to dinner."

"Say…WHAT?!" Derek's voice went from calm to really loud, and it happened really fast.

The next thing Casey knew, she was chasing Derek down the hallway, latched onto his arm, trying to put all her weight into stopping him from walking, but that proved no use whatsoever. He had the piece of paper Paul had written his number on crumpled into his clenched fist. "Derek, please!"

"Oh woman get off!" Derek stopped and tried to shake her off, but she was attached like velcro, "I just want to confront him on this, I'm not going to say anything stupid."

"Derek, it's impossible for you to confront someone and not say something stupid."

"Whatever."

"First you thought it was Max, you were wrong about that! I don't want you to jump the gun about Paul either!" Casey whimpered, still firmly holding onto him.

Derek sighed, "Casey, Max hasn't been here, so you can't say I'm completely wrong about Max yet. As for your shrink? Well it's inappropriate for him to give out his personal number to you! And inviting you for dinner? I should have his sorry ass fired."

"No Derek, because then who would I get my guidance from?" Casey asked him in all truth.

Derek just looked at her for a moment. She looked so pitiful, yet he loved when she begged him. He folded his arms, and her hand was folded in between them, seeing as she was still hanging onto him. But they paid no attention to that. "Why should I not confront him?" he then immediately added a, "You care too much about other people!"

"Because accusing people of things before we're sure we even know if they've done something or not is doing nothing but getting us into more trouble." Casey explained, "We should wait. If it ends up being him, I promise you I'll…I'll…"

Derek smirked, "You'll…?"

Casey bit her bottom lip. What could she possibly offer Derek that would satisfy his needs? She knew she'd have to step out of the comfort zone and offer something she absolutely didn't want to happen, so she agreed upon a simple, "I'll let you punch his lights out."

"Hmm." Derek contemplated this for a moment, "That's tempting. But assaulting a teacher has a harsh sentence. I'll settle for getting him fired."

"But I told you I needed him…" Casey pouted, sad that her attempt to offer something good to Derek had failed.

Derek sighed, "How about we just settle on you admitting I was right?"

Casey perked up at this. Wow. It was even better than him punching his lights out. "Deal." She smiled at him.

With that they turned to head back towards the lunchroom.

"And you have to carry my backpack home from school for a month."

"Der-ek!!"

**XOXO**

Sheldon scoffed as he slammed his locker door open. Thank God school was over for the day. At least at work, he'd be busy enough that his mind wouldn't be on the day's events so far. He was still majorly heated from what had happened between him and Derek, not to mention Casey and Emily. No one treated Emily like that and got away with it. No sir. Casey McDonald had crossed a line. Upon his locker opening, a folded up piece of white paper drifted out of it, and he leaned down to pick it up. Go figure. Casey was already apologizing.

When he opened it though, what he read didn't seem very Casey like to him.

'**YOU SHOULD HAVE HELD YOUR TONGUE TODAY**

**NOW I WILL COME AND TAKE IT AWAY.'**

What the hell?

He shook his head, before crumpling the note and shoving it into his pocket.

"Hey." Emily greeted from behind him.

He spun around, a smile on his face, "Hey honey, you feeling better?"

She slinked into his arms and rested her head on his chest, "A little. I'm sure it'll be even better once this day is over."

Sheldon held her tightly, "I agree." He kissed the top of her forehead, "You go home and rest. I'll call you when I get off work tonight, and we can talk it out until we pass out from being so tired, okay?"

Emily nodded, and the couple parted ways.

**XOXO**

As evening set in, Casey paced through the house cleaning up messed the boys had made when they'd gotten into yet another one of their 'brotherly bonding squabbles'. They'd thrown laundry, plastic dish ware, pillows, and just about anything else that was unbreakable. At least they'd been smart enough in that aspect.

"Just think Casey, we'll be home in a few more days!" Lizzie exclaimed happily. She too, had missed her sister.

"I know Liz!" Casey was wearing a smile that couldn't even be hidden by the moon, "And we're going to spend every single minute of the evening together!"

"Of course! I mean, Lord knows you'll need it after being alone so much with Derek and Edwin." Lizzie replied in a matter-of-factly voice.

"No kidding." Casey then paused, "In all honesty they haven't been as horrible as usual." She then picked up a dirty, sweat covered sock. Her face cringed, "Scratch that. What am I thinking?"

Lizzie laughed a little, "Yeah you almost had me fooled there."

At that moment, Casey could hear their footsteps from the upper floor. Still running around. She dreaded even going upstairs later and seeing the disaster that would lie there. They sounded like a herd of wild elephants. "Liz, can you hold please for a second?"

"Sure."

As if on cue, the boys came bolting down the stairs, Edwin running as fast as he could from Derek.

"Boys!" Casey began, "No! I have just cleaned up this-Edwin?! What are you doing?"

Edwin had dashed behind Casey, wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her back. Upon her asking him what he was doing, he responded dramatically, "Please save me."

Derek rolled his eyes, "Ed, you know good and well that Casey cannot save you from me." He informed, "The only thing that can save you from me is…" he pondered for a moment before smiling at him, "Nothing!"

Derek then proceeded the grab Edwin around the head, and attempt pulling him off of Casey, but Edwin's grip only tightened, causing her to squeak and grunt for the lack of air she was receiving.

"Do you guys mind?! I am on the phone!" Casey screamed.

"Is that Edwin?" Lizzie's voice came from the other side, "Tell him I said hi!"

"Sure." Casey grunted, as she was still being tugged on almost violently. "Ed-WIN!" she squeaked halfway through his name as she had received the harshest squeeze yet.

"Kind of busy here Casey." Edwin choked out. He himself was damn near being strangled as Derek continued to try prying him off of Casey.

Casey rolled her eyes, "Lizzie says hi, now GET OFF OF ME!"

"She did?!" Edwin was so excited that not only had he let go of Casey, he'd managed to throw Derek off of him. He coughed abruptly, realizing that his outburst had been a little out of character, and cleared his throat, putting a smug look on his face and in his eyes, "You tell her I said wassup, my dear Casey."

Casey had already distanced herself, but relayed the message none the less, "Edwin says 'wassup'." She then giggled and left towards the kitchen, and Edwin faintly heard a 'I know, I mean you should see the mood that these two are in.'

After Casey had left, Edwin turned to walk back up the stairs, when yet another throat cleared behind him. He glanced over to see Derek with his arms folded, wearing a look that clearly meant he was about to get his ass kicked, and he bolted up the stairs, Derek in tow.

Casey mentally thanked God they had left the lower floor again. She never wanted to be stuck in that position again. A few seconds later she heard the sound of glass breaking and a thud from the upper floor. That was followed by a, 'Oh way to go Ed!'

"Liz, I'm sorry but I have to let you go." Casey sighed, grabbing the Advil from the cabinet, "Yes…I'm going to strangle the Venturi boys."

**XOXO**

The evening had been long for Sheldon, and he was thankful when he could finally lock the front doors at the small convenience store. He was the manager on duty that night, as the other one had taken some sick leave, meaning he'd be working a lot more lately. He was tired, he was grumpy, and the days events had been on his mind all evening. Which was exactly what he thought would not have happened. It sure boosted his mood in a worse direction.

Business had been dead. Thank God this wasn't a 24 hour place. It was roughly 10:00. He was spent. All the mental, physical energy he had used today had left him completely tired. All he wanted to do was get the deposit ready and go home to call his girl.

He went to the back stock room for a moment to toss a few odd items in the junk basket, before removing his name tag. A rustling sound caught his attention for a moment, and he peered behind him. The stock room was dark, and small, and it creeped him out as it was. Sounds like that weren't cool. Though it wasn't out of the ordinary for food or product to slide off the shelves. He remembered he hadn't locked the back door, and sighed, heading towards it, and locking it for the night.

He briefly visited the janitor's closet and grabbed the mop so that he could clean the bathroom floors. He did the men's first, and then headed to the women's. He was planning out tomorrow in his head and was almost talking out loud to himself, when another noise completely froze him. It sounded like it had come from the men's restroom. But he had just been in there and it was empty. 'Okay…' he convinced himself, 'You're tired Sheldon. And you're hearing things.' He shook his head and began to resume mopping, when yet another thud stopped him again. No. There was no way he could just be hearing this. He leaned the mop against the wall and walked over to the door. Peeking his head out, he waited, and listened to see if anymore noises would come from the restroom. He waited for roughly 2-3 minutes and nothing more.

"I'm really, really, losing it." He told himself, rubbing his eyes in a tired manner.

Again, a thud came from the men's restroom. Now he was starting to get slightly creeped out. Maybe raccoons had come through the ceiling? Okay, so now he was just making up excuses so he'd feel better…but didn't everyone when they were afraid?

He stepped completely out of the women's restroom and into the small hallway. He watched the men's restroom door for a moment. No movement. It couldn't possibly be that…someone was in there, could it?

No way. He'd made sure all the customers were out at close.

He took a deep breath and pushed the men's restroom door open. Well, it looked empty. He glanced around noticing that nothing was really out of order. Except that one of the stall doors was closed. He could have sworn he'd left it open. Something he'd learned when he started here, was that if a burglar or had gotten in, to always lean down to check and see if you could see anything from floor level. Usually the legs would be bluntly visible at least. So he sunk to the floor quietly and carefully, and glanced underneath the stalls. Nothing.

He stood back up. "Damn imagination." He mumbled, walking towards the closed stall.

Before he could make it there, he noticed a bright color on the mirrors out of the corner of his eye. The stall would have to be put on hold for a moment. He had just cleaned these mirrors, and when he turned to fully face them, he noticed that something had been written on them. As he approached the mirrors, he squinted his eyes to read the bright colors. It looked like it'd been written in some kind of orange paint or lipstick. Finally, his eyes widened, as he could make out the words, **'SPEAK NO EVIL.'**

He caught his breath. He didn't know what it could possibly mean. Though there was that note he'd received today at school. He'd thought nothing of it.

Suddenly, in the reflection of the mirror, a figure dressed all in black, and wearing some kind of distorted wolf mask emerged from the closed stall. Sheldon didn't know what to do. It was like he was frozen in place. He spun around to face the figure, but as soon as he'd caught a real glimpse, he was struck so hard in the head, that he fell to the floor, and all went black.

When he woke up, he was still on the cold, hard, men's restroom floor. The room was pitch black. There was an incredible stinging, throbbing pain on the inside of his mouth and he could taste blood. Something though didn't feel right. He groaned in pain. And that didn't even sound right. Something was missing. He reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone, hoping it would provide some light.

It was faint, but it would do. The pain of his mouth was almost unbearable. As he made a move to get up, the light from the phone clearly made a puddle of blood on the floor. He grunted again. His head hurt still. He didn't even see what he had been hit with. Or how long he'd been out, as he'd not glanced at his phone clock. The pain was too excruciating for him to read anyway.

Upon seeing the blood, he finished standing up and dialed 911.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"Ieh ben atatthed." Sheldon spat out.

"Hello? This is 911, what's your emergency?"

Sheldon had once again frozen in place with fear. He hunched over and coughed, spewing blood all over the floor as he did so. He felt what was missing. He just didn't want to believe it. His mind flooded with thoughts of the note he'd recieved in his locker today. No way...there was just no way.

He shut his phone, cutting off the operator in the process as he slowly turned towards the mirrors again. He stumbled closer to the mirrors, and re-opening the phone for provided light, he held it to the mirror, and leaned as far as he could towards it. He coughed again, dribbling blood down his shirt in the process, and getting it all over the mirrors this time as well. Still, he was determined. And when he opened his mouth, his suspicions of what was missing were confirmed, as he stared in horror.

All he could see, was a mouthful of blood. And no tongue.

* * *

**AN : Please don't flame me! I love Sheldon. I really do!**


	8. Her Rock

**AN : Sorry I'm a little late with this update guys. There were a few things in this chapter that I went back through and switched up, and re-wrote. I just couldn't get anything to sound right. Blahhh. Well, you all know that I myself am a harsh judge to my own work. I feel like this chapter was just...argh. It was a little frustrating for me to get through. Don't know why. It just was. Hopefully all of you faithful readers and reviewers will snap me out of my moodiness lol. You guys are awesome by the way, you never let me down. Thanks for all of the fantastic praise last chapter!**

**A few things about this chapter! One - it is in past tense. That is the reason for the italics. This chapter takes place the same evening that Sheldon lost his tongue - only it's covering the events that happened with Derek and Casey. Hope it doesn't confuse anyone too much! Two - There is another character death here. No flames, please. This is a horror story people. Remember!**

**A timeline hint - The day this chapter takes place on is Thursday. The family is coming home Sunday evening. Just in case anyone had gotten mixed up or confused over the weeks span. **

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part 8 – Her Rock_

* * *

_Casey swallowed hard as she walked up onto the doorstep in which she hadn't set foot on since last Saturday. With slight hesitation she reached her hand up and knocked on the door just loud enough for anyone who might be inside to hear. _

_She glanced over her shoulder to see Derek standing down on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, kicking around at the ground below him. He seemed nervous, but confident all at once. Edwin was a couple more feet away, swinging around a stop sign pole. Casey had warned him that his entire hand was going to turn silver, but he hadn't believed her. Guess he would have to find out the hard way._

_The brisk, cool, fall weather blew just enough to make Casey shiver, as she directed her eyes back towards the front door of the house. She could hear the sound of footsteps coming from inside. Suddenly she felt like she shouldn't be there. That the information she wanted was none of her concern. That maybe…just maybe…there was a reason time had not permitted her to get here sooner. There was no turning back however, as the front door opened up and a middle aged woman stood in the doorway._

_Casey put on the best smile she could, "Hi Ms. Miller…" She paused, noting the look on the woman's face was mixed with panic, and possibly hope. _

"_Casey, darling, please tell me, have you heard from Max?" Ms. Miller already had tears in her eyes. And they had barely exchanged words. _

_  
__She couldn't believe it. That gut feeling was welling up in her now. She knew by the look on his mom's face, that Max had not come home, and never would. _

"_To tell you the truth, " Casey's voice was quivering and cracking, "I was hoping you could tell me where he's been."_

_The woman had a questioning glance on her face. Questioning enough for Casey to continue, so she sighed, glancing down at the ground, "He broke up with me and I haven't talked to him since. It's been a couple days."_

_It wasn't a lie. But it wasn't the truth either. Casey couldn't believe what kind of monster she had turned into these past few days. Lying, hiding things, accusing people of things she had no idea if they had done. Her overall paranoia and mistrust was driving her crazy as it was._

_Ms. Miller's concerned face, it broke Casey's heart. It was like mom's had this sense of when things weren't alright with their children. She definitely had that sense right now. "It just is not like Max to go missing for this long without so much as a phone call. The school even called me today to ask me why he hasn't been at school. Attendance is crucial when you're the captain of the football team." She then looked up at Casey, "And what do you say when you don't even know?"_

_Casey couldn't bear being there any longer. She'd had enough. She knew the truth behind Max's disappearance and yet? She was going to walk away without so much as barely informing his own mother about it. She would be furious if she was lost somewhere, missing, or dead, and someone withheld that information from her own mother. How could she do this? How could she? She cleared her throat and stumbled around her next sentence, "What about having the police look for him?"_

_Ms. Miller sighed in response, "I've already tried the police. Max hasn't been missing for more than a week, so if that point comes, which I pray never will, I'm supposed to call them back then."_

_Casey nodded weakly, staring with eyes wide and threatening to squeeze out tears of guilt, but she was doing her best to remain strong, "Well, I um…" she glanced over her shoulder at the boys again, before her eyes darted once again to Ms. Miller, throwing a thumb in their direction, "My step-brothers are waiting on me, so I gotta go but…" she had backed up a few steps, watching Ms. Miller's nodding and concerned face, "I wish you the best you know…with this."_

_With that she spun on her heel and walked off the porch. She couldn't say 'I really hope you find him.' No…because finding him was something that would only cause a world more heartache for everyone that loved him and knew him._

_Including herself._

_As she approached Derek, the look on his face immediately softened, for he knew by her own expressions, that the talk with Max's mother, had gone negatively. She said nothing to him. The only action she showed was wrapping her arms around herself and walking in silence. _

_Edwin noticed it was time to go and smirked, holding his hands up to both Derek and Casey, "And as you both can see, no silver."_

_Derek raised an eyebrow and stared at his silver colored hand, "Have you looked at it, Ed?"_

_Edwin glanced at his hand and his expression dropped. How could it be? Stop sign poles really did do such a thing to human skin? He began muttering things under his breath, earning chuckles from Derek, and more silence from Casey as she walked ahead of the two of them. _

_Derek glanced at his watch. It was a little after 5. Lizzie was supposed to call for Casey around 7:30. Although Derek still wanted to pummel her shrink aka "guidance counselor", he couldn't help but agree with the fact that he'd recommended Casey staying in contact by phone often. At least until they got back on Sunday. So right after school, Casey had called and they really weren't going to have any free/spare time to talk until after they'd had dinner that night with some of George's execs. Lizzie had told Casey she'd call as soon as they'd gotten back from that which would be roughly after 7. He knew that once Lizzie and Casey started talking on the phone, Casey would be a lot better. But until then? What was a step-brother to do?_

_He shoved his hands in his pockets, "Hey guys, let's go to Smelly Nelly's, I'll buy."_

_Casey sighed upon hearing this. She was just tired. Not at all hungry, but she knew she should probably try to eat. _

"_Sweet! Count me in!"_

_And now she didn't have a choice. It was 2 against 1. No matter what the situation they always went by the odds. _

_Edwin had noticed Casey's look of discomfort and silence, however he hadn't bothered asking this time. _

_Because they always left him in the dark._

_As they neared the corner of the street and took the turn towards Smelly Nelly's, Derek couldn't help but to wonder what the conversation had really been like. Though her actions should have been enough, he still hated not knowing. If it was true that Max really was gone…dead…something, how could it really be possible that his body hadn't been found yet? The background scenery of the pictures taken was a road that Derek had been on many times. And cops frequented it. It's not like that could have been pulled off without something turning up after this long. Plus, his car had gone through the metal railing on the road. If that had been broken and damaged, why hadn't someone noticed?_

_It all still seemed way too impossible. However, he wasn't going to bombard Casey with more theories right now. He just wanted to take the girl for some grub. Not to mention he himself was starving. _

_When they arrived at Smelly Nelly's the restaurant was having it's Thursday evening rush. Derek glanced around, and could see Sally scurrying back and forth between tables. He smirked. He could just imagine her panicky voice flipping out over nothing. He'd worked way too many shifts, and dealt with way too many rushes alongside her._

_However, Sally had gotten a glance at the trio standing just inside the doorway, and managed to slip away from her busy section for a moment to seat them. _

"_Hey guys, dining in?" Sally asked them._

_Derek nodded, "Yeah but if you don't want to seat us in your section, I can completely understand." _

_Sally smiled, "Nonsense, come on." She motioned for them to follow her, and seated them in a booth. "I'll be right back for your drink orders."_

"_Thanks." Derek replied._

Edwin grabbed the menu Sally had placed in front of him and began shuffling through to see what he wanted to order. Casey had managed to smile at Sally, which to Derek, was great. It was the most emotion he'd seen from her in the last 20 minutes.

_Derek passed her a menu, and watched as she sighed deeply, and then unfolded it. He could tell she was giving the menu a glance simply out of respect for him. What most people still hadn't come to understand about the two of them, was that somewhere along the way something had formed amongst them that was beautiful and disastrous at the same time. They had this entire level, state of mind, only to themselves, and in that came care, and respect. Yes, they would never agree, they would argue, Derek was always going to play pranks on her, and she in turn, was always going to do whatever she could to piss him off on purpose. _

_But that was something that was okay with them. _

_Derek had struggled a hard considerable amount with his feelings for her especially as of recent. At first it'd been so hard for him to even entertain such a preposterous thought as having feelings for a step-sister. After a while? He'd given up. The feelings had taken him by force and anytime he'd tried to push them away or deny them to himself, they'd kicked his ass. _

_He cared so much for the girl sitting across the table from him. Cared so much about what she thought about him. She'd done the impossible. Something that in all his life, everyone he'd met had tried and failed at doing. She'd changed him. He too, had been waiting for years for someone, just anyone, who was going to make a difference for him. When Casey had come into his life, he immediately thought he had the girl defeated, and down for the count. He found out that he was wrong. He'd finally met the everlasting, never ending challenge. The one who matched his wit, and stubbornness to back down from anything. The one who had just the right amount of beauty, to match his right amount of charm. The one who took a chance and burned his pride. The one who would risk telling him the truth, even if it meant offending him. Not to mention the one who risked telling him the truth when everyone else sugar coated their words towards him. His complete opposite that kept his head above the water because she brought him perfect balance. Of all people, she was the one that never let him drown._

_On the surface? People didn't know jack. _

_  
They never would. Because in that state of mind? Only he and her exsisted._

_Now there was this . . .this monster. This stalker. Who was daring to disrupt their world, and not to mention the world that surrounded also. Their friends were suffering. They were suffering. Derek had been wrong about Max being home, but he wasn't so sure he was still completely off just yet. Something didn't seem right about the entire thing. Then again, the fact that anything like this was even happening to Casey, and to him, didn't seem right. _

_Who could possibly have a crush on Casey, that wanted her so bad, they would eliminate everyone around her just to get to her? He'd seen it in movies, sure, but of course, there was a big difference between reality and a movie. Reality was unpredictable, and thus had been so far. Movies? They followed the same path. Derek knew more than anyone that movies could be a reality. But they weren't welcome to be a part of his. _

_This had to be over. He had to end it._

_Sally returned to the table looking rather frazzled, and definitely like she was in over her head, but wore a smile for them none the less, notepad in hand. "What to drink guys?"_

"_I'll have a coke." Edwin declared promptly, before returning to his menu._

_Sally scribbled down Edwin's drink order before then turning her eyes towards the two others. One was watching the other, and the other seemed to be in a complete daze. Silence swept the table, and when Derek realized that Casey wasn't going to put in her drink order, he spoke up, "I'll have a chocolate milk." He smiled quickly at Sally, watching her write down his order, before glancing back over at Casey. He wasn't even sure if she was aware Sally had returned for her drink order or not. "Um, she'll have mint tea." _

_Sally raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly was wrong with Casey that she was incapable of ordering her own drink. And what exactly could be so wrong that Derek would put so much of his focus and attention on her. Sally was used to playing that role. However, she mustered a small smile, and scribbled down Casey's drink. "I'll have these out in a few moments."_

_Derek nodded faintly before nudging Edwin with his elbow, "Edwin, go wash your hands."_

_Edwin whipped his head to the side to face his older brother, "But I haven't even picked out what I want to eat yet."_

"_Go. Now. And stay gone for at least 5 minutes." Derek stood up, grabbed him by the arm and ripped him out of the booth without so much as a second thought. Edwin glared slightly over his shoulder towards Derek, but sauntered off towards the bathroom anyway. Sometimes, he really wished he could be the older brother._

_Derek slid back into the booth, folding his arms and resting them on the table top as he watched Casey scanning over the menu. She was probably reading every single item, and all the useless detail that was always listed underneath them. _

"_So, what are you going to eat Spacey?" Derek decided he'd try to start up conversation with her._

_Surprisingly, she snapped out of whatever daze she was having to respond to him. She sighed, and leaned back against the booth seat, "I don't know. I'm leaning towards salad."_

_Derek nodded. That figured. He leaned forward slightly, "So, are you going to be alright?"_

_Casey shot him a questioning glance, "Yeah, why?"_

"_Well you just seem like you're not all…you know, here right now." Derek replied, before adding, "Not that I really care. I mean, silence from you is nice and everything I've ever dreamed of, but it's out of the norm."_

_Casey rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at the smart remark part of his statement, "I'm just worried about Max and his mother."_

_Derek sighed, "You know Case…I feel bad that you're going through all this. But the reason why I'm so harsh about everything is because I know you're stronger than you let on."_

_Casey shifted in her seat and tilted her head slightly, "Is that a form of flattery I hear?"_

_Derek then shifted as well, though his shifting had more of an uncomfortable sense about it, "Well you can take it however you want it, I just think that…even though what's happening is crazy and there's really no explanation yet.." he paused for a moment and leaned back, "I just wonder sometimes, where is that strong Casey girl I know, cause she can pull through anything."_

"_Derek." Casey started, stopping him before he could say anything else, "Thank you."_

"_Well I just think that because of…" Derek stopped for a moment, finally her response had sunk in, "What?"_

_Casey sighed, "Thank you." She paused slightly, "I know this hasn't been easy for you either. And I know the hardest part has been putting up with me. So…I wanted to thank you for stepping out of your comfort zone just to help me through this."_

_It was unavoidable. Casey could see his ego growing as she sat there looking at him. Not to mention his ever growing smirk. He folded his arms and cocked his head in his all knowing glory, "Well it seems that at least your intelligence hasn't left the building. You still know that I am the greatest of them all."_

"_I never said that Derek I just meant-"_

"_No no. It's okay." Derek held up his hands to silence her, "I'm used to it. And every other female in school feels the same. So we'll just add you to the list and-"_

"_Just because I thanked you for being my rock the past week, doesn't mean my opinions of you being arrogant, selfish, and a jerk have changed."_

_Derek sat in silence. It wasn't the fact that she called him a jerk. Or selfish. Or arrogant. Those names, he was all used to._

_She had called him her rock. That meant that she wasn't just depending on him a little. She wasn't just turning to him because she had no one else to turn to. She needed him._

_That changed everything. He no longer felt like he had to force himself to be her support system. He didn't want anyone else to be that for her. _

"_That also doesn't mean that I don't want to call the police or that I've stopped mourning for Max, because I do still want to call the police, and I am still mourning over Max."_

_She still loved that loser. Even after he'd treated her like crap. Even after for the months she'd dated him, he'd caused her to become distant to everyone else, including Derek himself. Even after Derek disapproved time and time again. _

"_You know I'm going to eventually let you call the police Casey." Derek sighed, now annoyed that Max was once again her confirmed concern. "I just won't let you call them yet. Because I still think this is one big bunch of bullshit."_

_Casey sighed, "And I've come to terms that you may be right. That's why I've stopped asking." She paused for a moment, "But we can't wait too much longer. Especially if things keep happening."_

_Derek rolled his eyes. He was just annoyed now. Max. Blah._

"_Is it safe to come back now?" Edwin stood at the end of the booth glancing between the two of them._

_  
"What do you mean?" Casey asked, giving him a confused glance._

"_Well, Derek made me-"_

_  
"That's enough Ed." Derek interrupted as he scooted out of the booth to let Edwin back in._

_  
Edwin shook his head as he slid in, and Sally also returned to the table with the drinks, "Okay…Edwin had coke." She sat the drink down in front of him. "Derek, chocolate milk."_

_Casey watched Sally sitting the drinks down. She didn't even remember Sally taking drink orders. Her jaw dropped slightly open when Sally sat the mint tea down in front of her, before smiling slightly, "Thanks Sally, how did you know this was my favorite?"_

_Sally forced herself not to frown as she answered Casey's question, "Oh, I didn't." she then made a hand motion towards Derek, "Derek ordered it for you."_

_Casey glanced across the table at Derek, who wasn't even paying attention. He was too busy blowing the straw wrapper off his straw and it smacked Edwin in the side of the head. _

_Sally cleared her throat. She wasn't going to lie, and it was almost too hard to hide, the slight jealousy in her eyes, "Are you ready to order?"_

_  
"Yeah I just want the garden salad." Casey replied, "With ranch."_

_Sally nodded and scribbled it down, before glancing over at Edwin._

_Edwin cleared his throat, "I want the burger."_

_Sally wrote down his order then looked at Derek with a smile, "And for you?"_

"_The usual. Chocolate pancakes." Derek responded._

_  
To tell you the truth, chocolate pancakes had never been a menu item. That is, until Derek had started working there._

_Sally laughed slightly as she wrote down Derek's order and took the menus. As she was walking away she heard Casey ask Derek if the pancakes here were better than the ones she would make him at home. He'd answered with a 'by far.' Following that there was a 'Der-ek!!' and upon that being said Derek laughed and said, 'Of course they're not Case.'_

_She huffed as she slammed their order slip down on the counter by the kitchen. Since when was Derek and Casey so close? It burned her. It really did. She didn't even know why. She'd never had a problem with Casey. But something about her being the center of Derek's attention infuriated her. That's why she never liked being around them at the same time. If it was just Casey – it was fine. Just Derek – it was fine. Them two together? You were nearly invisible and got lucky if they actually responded to something you said. She'd never forget the dinner she'd had at their house. Max had been there too. They had been the guests, and yet? Derek and Casey were solely focused on Derek and Casey. _

_So you could imagine the relief Sally felt when they were finished eating. She'd had to stand there serving them, putting up with watching them glance meaningfully at each other, and even in front of Edwin? Though he was seemingly off in his own head, mumbling things about how cute some girl that he could never have was. And that he wouldn't be able to stand the fact of seeing her with anyone else but himself. Kids. _

_Casey and Edwin stepped outside the door to wait on Derek, talking amongst themselves. Casey seemingly worried she was going to miss Lizzie's phone call, therefore, because of that, Derek seemed rushed also. _

_  
"Thanks a lot Sally. You said you'd add a payroll deduct for the meal yeah?" Derek was standing at the counter with her. He gave her that infamous smile and pointed a finger at her. _

_Sally nodded, and smiled, "Yes." Really it was true. Derek Venturi was a charming boy._

"_Sweet. I'm out." Derek replied, turning to head out the doorway._

_  
"Hey, Derek?" Sally called to him before he could make it._

_He stopped and turned back towards her, "What's up?"_

_Sally sighed, and glanced down at the ground for a moment. _

_Derek could tell she was struggling a bit to say anything, so he took a couple steps towards her, "Are you okay?"_

"_Oh yes," Sally placed a hand on her chest, "I'm fine." _

_She laughed a little and Derek smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets._

"_I was thinking maybe we could you know…do something this weekend. Maybe tomorrow night?" Sally immediately notice his face twist and turn in contemplation, so she quickly added in a, "Since we both have the night off and I know you've been stuck in your house all week with Casey."_

_Derek raised an eyebrow at her, but his expression clearly told her to go on._

"_I just figured you could use a break and it would give us you know…" Sally stumbled, "Some alone time?"_

_Derek laughed a little, but was full of smiles for Sally, "Since when have you wanted alone time with me?" he took a couple more steps towards her, "You've never seemed anywhere near interested before."_

_Sally put on a nervous smile, "That's not true…I just…" she stopped for a second. She wasn't just going to downright say she was jealous of Casey. That was silly. She was just his step-sister. She sighed, "Well. I've come around."_

"_You've come around?" Derek questioned again._

_He knew exactly what was going on here. He was not at all stupid. Especially when it came to females. He'd been sprung over Sally since she'd set foot in Smelly Nelly's. He'd been beyond interested in her for a long time. And she had never even so much as given him a second glance. Now? After one time she wasn't the one who had all his attention, she was trying to tell him that she'd 'come around'? Please._

_  
Though Derek still did care a great amount for Sally, and normally he wouldn't mind, there was no way he was going to go out with her and leave Casey alone. _

_And while he really would like to go to the movies with Sally, the intentions of this 'date', so called 'alone time', weren't heartfelt. They were out of jealousy. Derek had always sensed a small level of envy between Casey and Sally, though they tended to get along beautifully. Now that he and Casey were getting closer, Derek had already felt his interest in Sally go away. And fast. After all, he was Casey's rock. _

_Sally was beautiful, smart, and drama free. _

_Casey was intriguing, fascinating, and perfect. But on top of those things, she also possessed everything that Sally did. The beauty, the brains. Okay…so maybe she wasn't drama free. But to Derek that made her more real. Sure…she was a little bit too dramatic at times. But that's what gave him his rush. His challenge. His air to breathe._

_Hands down, Sally didn't even compare to her. Not anymore. And Derek wasn't sure that she ever really had to begin with._

_He sighed, "I can't Sally."_

_Sally's smile quickly faded into a frown, "You can't?"_

_Derek shook his head, "No. I really can't." he paused, "My weekend belongs to Casey."_

_Sally shot him a confused look, "Casey?"_

"_Yeah. She needs me." Derek replied, "But it was nice of you to ask."_

_Sally glared out the door to where she could see Casey standing with Edwin. She had her arms folded around her, and she seemed to be smiling about something Edwin had said. She whipped her head back again to look at Derek, who was watching Casey also, "Did I miss something?"_

_Derek glanced back at the blonde girl in front of him, "What? No. You didn't miss anything."_

"_Well last time I checked, Casey was grown enough to take care of herself." Sally replied, her jealousy and envy now getting the best of her._

_Derek sighed. "No that's not what this is about okay?" he took Sally by the shoulders, "Casey is going through some stuff right now, and she needs-" he cut himself off and re-worded it, "I want to be by her side through it."_

_Sally frowned. As if she couldn't have any more. Her eyes burned with frustrations, "Derek if she can't learn to handle things on her own, how is it going to be when she gets out in the real world? The cold, harsh real world?"_

"_Well as long as I'm around I'll make sure she never does have to face anything alone, Sally." Derek paused, "And I really don't want to have this conversation with you right now."_

_Derek shook his head and spun on his heel, heading out the door. He couldn't believe the nerve that Sally had to question his actions with Casey. It was none of her business. Derek was doing his best not to be mean or get angry. That's why he decided it'd be best to walk away._

_Of course, a jealous and frustrated girl, never would just leave things at that, as Sally darted out the door right after him, "Derek wait!"_

_Casey turned towards Derek, noting he had a glare in his eyes, as he took a deep breath, and spun around to face Sally again. What was going on that had him so irritated? What had Sally said to him?_

"_Sally." Derek began, taking a step towards her, "I like you okay? But I know where this is going. So back off."_

_Sally was beyond angry at this point. She glared over at Casey accusingly. Like she had stolen something from her. What in the hell did Casey have that she didn't? "I'm sorry Derek I just don't understand. What happened to you?"_

_Derek tilted his head towards the sky, as if he was praying to God, before rubbing his face with his hands in a frustrated manner, "Nothing's happened to me Sally, you're freaking out because I don't want to go out to the movies with you tomorrow!" he let his hands fall to his side as he landed a dead stare at her, "I mean, what the hell?"_

_Sally felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and Casey really wanted to know what this was all about. Sally took a few steps towards Derek, who sighed, and told her to stop crying._

"_Am I really freaking out?" Sally asked him with big, sad eyes._

"_Yeah kind of." Derek replied shortly. His tolerance for Sally was already burnt up for the night. And as far as he was concerned, he could care less if he went a full week without seeing the girl now._

"_I'm sorry." Sally said, opening her arms out for a hug._

_Derek sighed, his heart softening. Damn Casey again. He reached his arms out and wrapped them around Sally. _

"_I guess I just…was a little upset that you're choosing Casey over me."_

_Derek rolled his eyes. _

_  
Casey was watching the entire display with confusion. She hadn't exactly heard Sally's last sentence, but she was pretty sure she'd heard her name._

"_I mean…you don't even like her, so why would you-"_

_Derek took Sally by the arms and broke the hug almost immediately upon her making her last statement. How dare she assume anything about Casey? How dare she assume what HE felt about Casey? He could tell she was scared by his sudden actions, but she didn't say a word. _

"_Just so you know." Derek began, knowing full well that what he was about to say would probably end their friendship…or whatever it was they had. "The amount of respect, and adoration, and love I have for you?" he paused again, his gaze getting colder with every word he spoke, "Is nowhere near the amount that I have for her."_

_Sally couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't want to believe what she was hearing. Derek loved and adored Casey? More than her? Her thoughts came to a screeching halt again as Derek had more to say._

_  
"And I didn't want to be mean, or hurt your feelings about it Sally. I tried to walk away." He finally released her shoulders, and pointed at her, "What pisses me off the most is that you had the nerve to turn this into a competition."_

_She stood there, jaw hanging open, as she watched Derek grab Casey by the hand and start pulling her off down the sidewalk, signaling to Edwin to follow as well. Casey kept looking back, wondering what was going on, and she could hear her asking Derek what had happened, but he wasn't answering her. Her eyes burned as they filled with tears again, and she turned on her heel to go back inside._

"_Derek. Derek! What happened back there? You know that you're practically ripping my arm from it's socket, right? Derek Venturi you better answer me!"_

"_Damn it Casey."_

_Derek sighed and released her hand, rubbing his eyes stressfully once again before glancing over at her. She shot a questioning glance back in his direction, all the while Edwin being on Casey's other side, who had been having trouble keeping up when Derek was hauling her along. _

"_Are you going to tell me what happened back there?" Casey questioned again, as she watched Derek fold his arms over his chest._

"_I really don't want to talk about this. I'll tell you later." Derek grumbled, before huffing promptly and continuing towards home._

_It was true. He didn't want to talk about it, but Casey would definitely hear about it later. Right now, he just wanted to get home, so that Casey could make it in time for Lizzie's phone call. She needed to talk to Lizzie, and he wasn't going to let some drama with Sally slow that down._

Since when had Sally been such a fire starter anyway? She was always so kind and nice. Especially when it came to Casey. He wasn't regretful for what he said to her, because it obviously needed to be said. Sally did need to know that his feelings for her had changed. He wasn't going to wait forever for her anyway. And he sure as hell wasn't going to run into her arms so she could prove anything about him adoring her more than Casey. However, his heart had melted for her, because he knew her heart had shattered when he told her she didn't compare. The truth was the truth. He wasn't going to lie about it.

_The old him? Sure. The new and improved Casey-fied version? No way._

_Casey normally would have been prying at Derek right now to talk to her about what happened, but the look on his face? In his eyes? She knew that it was a conversation best saved for later. She knew without a doubt he would confide in her about whatever had happened later._

But good God, it was like neither of them could get a break lately. Just when one of them would feel a little better about something, they'd get hit with another situation again to completely destroy their mood.

_She knew she would feel better because the time had come for her and Lizzie to talk, however, she could tell that Derek was in a mental, emotional battle with himself right now. Quietly she walked alongside him and slipped her hand into his again, muttering a quiet, "Thanks for dinner," in the process._

_Derek was slightly alarmed when he felt a hand slide into his. In all honesty, he would have never guessed Casey to do such a thing. Edwin was more believable. And he would have smacked him upside his head for such a display. This? This was amazing. A little too amazing. _

_He pulled his hand away as if it'd been burned, and stared at her surprised gaze, before a smirk formed on his face. He folded his arms over his chest. "You're welcome."_

_Casey sighed, and crossed her arms as well, continuing to walk alongside him none the less. Count on Derek to kill the mood. Especially when she'd tried to set it. Holding hands? Guess they would have to work on that._

_**XOXO**_

_Sally had finished cleaning up her sections tables, when her shift ended about an hour later. She was still all kinds of upset about what had happened between her and Derek, and how she had just been shot down like that. _

_Maybe she had pushed it, and maybe it had gone too far, but he didn't have to hurt her feelings like that._

_Since when had he cared so much about Casey anyway? She remembered the good days when he used to do nothing but bad mouth his step-sister, and she was the one having to stick up for her._

_Still, it didn't change the fact that she was jealous and angry right now. She hated being jealous and angry at the same time._

_She said a few goodbyes to her fellow co-workers and headed out the front door of the restaurant, bundled up in her hoodie and scarf, and ready to make the 6 block walk home. The fall breeze was sharper in the evening than it was during the day, and it was already dark outside, though it was only about 8. She heard the battery of her cell phone dying and she sighed, glancing at it. She'd forgotten to charge it before work. Rolling her eyes she tossed it into her purse, adjusting it over her shoulder and continued to make a bolt for home. _

_As she neared the end of the 4th block, she came upon the section she always hated walking through. Old, abandoned, down town. It was full of old buildings with stores that had gone out of business years ago. It had just always been creepy to her. She hated how the manikins in the windows stared at her when she passed by. No one ever walked or drove through down town, but Sally did usually because despite the creepy, it was safer than taking the main roads and getting hit by drunk drivers._

_She passed over a set of train tracks and the first abandoned building, which used to be an old fudgery. Her mom always told her they had the best fudge ever, but they'd gone out of business before she'd ever gotten to try any of it. The next store was the first set of creepy manikins. And creepy, meant really creepy. The kind of creepy where you almost want to run past it, and not even look. _

_She supposed she shouldn't be afraid of something so silly, and that manikins should be the least of her worries after such a ridiculous night, so she took a glance. Seeing that they were all completely as they should be, and how the owners had left them years ago, she sighed in relief. "See Sally…nothing to worry about."_

_She normally did talk out loud to make herself feel better. To create some noise in the dead silence of the small abandoned block. And she was already almost out. After all, it was old, down town. And her house wasn't too far beyond it. She'd made the walk hundreds of times, so it wasn't like she hadn't seen it all before. Something tonight though…something was just not right. She figured it was probably just the fact that she had been emotional most of the evening that just added to the fearful emotion that she was dealing with now. _

_  
Thoughts of the previous issue then flooded her mind, and she forgot all about down town. As her mind replayed through everything that was said, she mumbled a "stupid princess Casey," which she never would have said under any normal circumstances. However, jealousy was a powerful emotion._

_A voice ripped through the silence, "Saaaaallllllllyyyyy."_

_Sally stopped dead in her tracks. She glanced over her shoulder. No one. The entire terrain was completely empty. Who had said that? She looked around for a few more moments, before deciding it was her imagination. As soon as she'd started walking again, she heard it again._

_  
"Sally."_

_It sounded like a distorted breathing almost. Who could breathe so loudly?_

"_Sally?"_

_The voice breathed again. It was like a deep, creepy heaving._

_  
"Whose there?" Sally's eyes darted in all directions again. It sounded like it had come a little further ahead, in front of the next building. Another one with creepy manikins in the windows. _

_  
"Sally are you scared?"_

_Now it was asking her questions? What the hell was going on? She was nervous beyond all control, however she searched her head for any reasonable explanation for this. During her search for reasons, she did recall how Derek loved to be a prankster. Maybe it was him, maybe he was coming to apologize. And that he hadn't meant any of what he'd said to her earlier._

_A smile came to her face, and she responded, "Scared of what, Derek?"_

"_The big bad wolf."_

_This made Sally laugh. Big bad wolf? Seriously, Derek could really lay it on thick. "You can come out now Derek, I know it's you."_

_The voice failed to respond again, but she stayed where she was, waiting, because she knew he would have something else planned. She kept her eyes forward, in the direction of where the voice was coming. After about 5 minutes she was growing impatient, and once again quite creeped out. She sighed, "Derek, I'm not waiting much longer, I'm going home now."_

_She thought for sure that would get him out. _

_  
"Sally, are you afraid of the big bad wolf?"_

_Sally was full of fear. She took a few steps forward, walking almost sideways to get further away from the building as the front window came into view. Something wasn't right about the display. Sure, two of the manikins were normal. But one was different. It was a black figure, with a distorted wolf like creature mask on its face. The big bad wolf?_

_As afraid as she was, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the wolf, and she couldn't move. She wanted to run. Should she run? She still didn't even know if this was just her eyes playing tricks. But she was pretty sure she wasn't dreaming. The fall air was too harsh for that._

_She glanced over her shoulder again for a split second, before her eyes turned back towards the wolf. It had moved. The wolf had moved. Whereas it was standing straight up before, it was now crouching down. How? It was a manikin, right? She felt the sudden urge to move closer, although her gut instinct told her she should be running away quickly. What was it about situations like this? No one ever ran when they should. They were always too curious. They always got themselves killed. This wasn't a movie, and this was a safe road. An abandoned road. There was nothing to be afraid of. _

_She stood just inches away from the wolf now, scanning it with her eyes, wondering why someone would mysteriously change the insides of an old, abandoned business building out of the blue. And why they would switch just a plain old white manikin, to a wolf of all things. Maybe someone had bought the building. Maybe it was going to be a Halloween boutique. Yeah, Sally thought. That sounds about right._

_It sure was a creepy wolf. All crouched down like that. As if it was waiting to pounce. _

_In old abandoned down town, you're lucky if anyone would hear you scream. _

_And as Sally watched the wolf come to life before her eyes, she prayed to God that she would be that one person who would scream loud enough. _

_It had claws. This wolf had actual claws. Because she felt them digging into her sides when it leapt through the window glass onto her. Her ear piercing scream seemed to stun it, as it reared off of her, holding its ears in pain. She took this as an opportunity to force herself off the ground. The claw marks hadn't gone deep. But they stung. _

_She took a glance over her shoulder at it. It wasn't a real wolf. No. It was someone. Dressed as a wolf. What exactly were they trying to do? And why? She ran as fast as she could down the street, wanting nothing more than to just get to the safety of her home. She ran, and ran, and ran, occasionally glancing over her shoulder. For a little bit, the wolf was still chasing her. After she made it to her block she could no longer see it. Her house came into view, and she sped up even faster, bolting across the yard, up the front stairs, and into her front door, flinging it open and slamming it shut behind her, making sure she didn't miss the locks. _

_She leaned against the door, trying to regain her breath, and slid down it and onto the floor. She buried her face in her hands and cried. Someone had attacked her tonight. Someone might have even been trying to kill her tonight. Who could possibly want to kill her? What had she done?_

_She stood up, "Mom I'm home!" she called throughout the quiet house._

_  
It had seemed strange that her mom hadn't come to say hi to her already, especially when she'd caused such a commotion coming inside. Her mom never responded, and she wiped her tears shakily. Her heart was still pounding like crazy, and her paranoia was working over time. She didn't feel safe right now, even in her own house. She walked slowly into the kitchen, holding her sides with her hands, and found that her mom had left a note on the table that she was at wal-mart shopping for some supplies for a work project._

'_Great.' Sally thought, crumpling up the note in her hand, 'Just great.'_

_She headed upstairs to her room, but stopped in the bathroom for a moment, slightly lifting her shirt to examine the claw marks in her sides. They weren't huge scratches or anything, but rather minor punctures in her skin. They were just big enough that she was bleeding though, so she cleaned them up quickly and headed to her room. _

_She threw her purse down on her bed and collapsed in her vanity chair, once again burying her face in her hands to cry. If anything, utter shock was the best explanation for the tears at the moment. What a bad day. Being shot down, attacked, and now alone. Maybe it was all a bad dream as a whole. Maybe this whole day hasn't even happened yet. One thing was for sure. She would never walk down town again._

_The sound of the phone ringing stopped her crying, and she reached over to pick it up off the receiver. "Hello?"_

"_Hey Sally, its mom."_

"_Mom!" Sally exclaimed, relief in her voice, "Hurry and get home from the store please?"_

"_What's wrong honey? You don't sound right."_

_Sally sighed, "No I just really hate being home alone right now, please hurry."_

"_Okay well what kind of popcorn do you want tonight, kettle, or extra butter?"_

"_You pick, it doesn't matter to me." Sally finished, "And you are going to hurry, right?"_

"_I'll be home in 20."_

"_Fine." Sally replied, and hung up the phone._

_She was still trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She hunched over in her chair, and tried taking slower, deeper breaths, but it just wasn't working for her. _

_  
The phone rang again, and Sally rolled her eyes, picking it up._

"_Mom just get the kettle-"_

_The sound of a wolf howling interrupted her, and she jumped up from the chair, dropping the phone in fear onto the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, there was movement, and she glanced into her mirror just in time to see the wolf pushing her bedroom door shut, to reveal itself. It had been hiding behind her bedroom door. How had it gotten into her house?_

_The wolf advanced on her, bearing its claws. One thing was for certain now. At least someone would hear her scream._

_**XOXO**_

"_You know that lamp was expensive, right?"_

"_Why aren't you talking to Edwin about this? He's the one that knocked it off the table."_

_Casey sighed in frustration as she swept up glass into a dustpan. The boys in all of their rowdy glory had managed to knock a brand new lamp her mom had just bought for the hallway off of a brand new table as well and break it. In fact, she hadn't even been able to finish talking to Lizzie on the phone when she'd heard the commotion taking place. She snapped a glare in Derek's direction, and he in turn simply smirked, folded his arms, and leaned against the wall._

"_Edwin isn't up here right now, Derek, so guess what? I'm blaming you."_

"_The only reason he's not up here is cause he had to run like a pansy. Me? I know you're not capable of physically harming me."_

_Casey rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Whatever."_

_She disposed of the glass pieces in the bathroom trash, and headed towards the hall closet to put away the broom and dustpan. Derek watched her with amusement, smirk never leaving his face. _

"_You know Derek, I sure am tired of looking at your ugly mug for one night." Casey snapped, as she shoved past him to head into her room._

"_Oh yeah?" Derek retorted, following behind her closely. He was huffing and puffing, and ended up responding sarcastically. "Thought I was your rock."_

_Casey spun around and gave him an almost hurtful glance, "Well you don't have to make it sound like it's a hassle for you. You don't have to be my rock you know." _

_Just as she turned to walk towards her closet, a strong hand grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her backwards. If he hadn't been standing there, she'd have fallen onto the floor. Thank God, she fell into his arms instead._

_His strong hands steadied her back onto her feet, and then spun her around to face him. As they then moved to grip her shoulder, gently but firmly, the look in his eyes changed. "What if I told you I wanted to be your rock?"_

_How was she supposed to respond to that? Here stood a boy. A boy who lived to torture and torment her. A boy who up until recently didn't want anything to do with her. A boy who loved to laugh and make fun of her. Now he was a boy who actually wanted the role of being her rock? Of course, she could only think of one answer._

"_I would say…" her eyes glanced down at the ground for a moment, and a soft smile came across her face, "That I wouldn't have it any other way."_

_Then, something amazing happened. Derek smiled. Not smirked. He genuinely smiled at her. The most beautiful, loving, she could hardly believe it's really Derek, smile. It was something she was never going to forget. In all of her life, of all her boyfriends and or interests, she had never met anyone quite like him. Someone who could drive her so crazy and make her adore him like crazy all at once. He was the type she wanted to fall into. She needed him. There wasn't one thing about him she ever truly did despise or hate. Rather, everything about him, every single flaw, characteristic, attitude problem, personality trait – were all just more reasons why she wanted him to be by her side forever. There wasn't one thing about him she could ever think of living without._

_As soon as the moment had begun, they were interrupted by a knock on the door, and Edwin's muffled voice came from the other side, "Casey, Emily is on the phone!"_

"_Emily?" Casey asked herself, giving Derek a questioning glance. He shrugged, although it seemed odd, and decided that he'd gotten mushy enough as it was, and to give Casey some privacy with Emily. _

_Casey opened the door and took the phone, watching Derek vacate out of her room and Edwin followed him down the hall. _

_Derek sighed. Okay, so he could deal with being the girl's rock, but my God it was not okay for him to turn into a chump. He shook his head at himself, not understanding what exactly was going on with him lately, other than the fact that he'd fallen head over heels for his step-sister. He'd actually known that for a while. It was just that now he was slowly doing something about it._

_He headed towards the kitchen to get something to drink, and Edwin plopped down on the couch to watch the news that had just come on._

"_OH MY GOD!"_

_Casey's voice screaming erupted through the household, disturbing both the boys. Derek sauntered out of the kitchen, an annoyed look plastered on his face. _

_  
Edwin had jumped up off the couch in a panic. He was nearly trampled by Derek at the edge of the couch, and noticed that his older brother did look a little frustrated. _

"_All I can say is she better have had a damn good reason to scream like that." Derek seethed, wiping off the pepsi he had spilled all over his shirt._

_Edwin held back a laugh. Casey's scream was startling. Guess Derek had felt the full force of that one._

_They heard her bedroom door fling open and she came bumbling down the stairs, damn near tripping because she was going too fast. She was in tears._

"_Derek oh my God it's Sheldon." Casey told in a panic. _

_Derek shoved his pepsi into Edwin's hands, and motioned for him to go away. Edwin sighed and rolled his eyes, though he wasn't too upset. He was used to it by now. Derek led Casey into the kitchen and out of earshot of Edwin. He took Casey by the shoulders, "Calm down Casey, stop crying for two seconds so I can understand you."_

"_I don't have time to calm down Derek, something horrible has happened to Sheldon." Casey replied, failing miserably at trying to speak without sobbing._

_She noticed Derek's questioning glance, "He's at the hospital Derek, we have to get to the hospital."_

_Derek still wasn't following. All he was managing to get out of the conversation so far was 'Derek, horrible, Sheldon, and hospital.' "Casey, I can't understand you, you have to chill."_

"_I think the secret admirer got Sheldon!" Casey yelled rather loudly in one last attempt to make any sense to Derek._

_Derek immediately had his hand pressed against her mouth as he shot her a glance that clearly read 'Are you crazy?' "Shush! Edwin is going to hear you!" He felt her sigh underneath his hand, but he kept it there firmly, "Let me just say first though, that it's not a secret admirer, it's a stalker. And also, why would he go after Sheldon? And don't yell your answer at me this time."_

_As soon as he'd made his demand, he removed his hand, and she shook her head at him, "We just have to go to the hospital. Emily said that someone attacked him while he was closing down at work, and that they…they…" her voice was getting louder again._

"_Casey…inside voice…" Derek reminded, pointing a finger at her, before urging her on again, "Okay…they…?"_

"_They cut out his tongue." Casey sobbed out. She then placed her own hand over her mouth to keep from crying._

_  
Derek's eyes widened in disbelief. The poor sap had lost his tongue? He couldn't lie. He immediately started feeling horrible for Sheldon. Why it would have been the stalker, he didn't know. But he had a feeling Casey was right._

_  
"Uh…Derek!" came Edwin's voice._

_Great. What now?_

"_What do you want Ed?"_

"_Um…you should probably come see this…"_

_Derek rolled his eyes and leaned towards Casey, "I'll be right back. Grab your hoodie. We're going to the hospital okay?"_

_Casey nodded through teary eyes, and Derek looked at her with a cringed expression, "And knock that shit off, everything's going to be alright."_

_Derek huffed. It was one thing to put up with tears to begin with. But to put up with them continually? It wasn't going to fly anymore. As Derek walked into the living area to see what Edwin's fuss was all about, his eyes immediately shot towards the TV, where a picture of Sally was being shown. Underneath her picture, was a headline. 'Young Woman Murdered.'_

_His jaw dropped open. What the fuck were those newscasters talking about?_

'_Police responded to a phone call made late this evening, when the neighbor of a young woman, Sally, heard screams coming from her house.' _

_Derek stumbled towards the tv, his face was paled. _

'_After investigation, the police found the body of the young woman lying on the ground outside, as she had been seemingly stabbed countless times and thrown from her two storee window.'_

_Casey was now also in the room, watching the tv in utter horror. Edwin couldn't believe it. His eyes were bugged out, and glued to the tv in shock. Derek didn't want to believe he was hearing this. No no, he wasn't it was all just one big lie. _

_He fell onto his knees grasping his head in his hands as if he had a massive migraine, "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"_

_He stood up angrily, punching the wall, breaking all the paint and plaster off of it, and leaving a good sized indention. He immediately shook his stinging hand, though thinking about the pain didn't last long._

_  
Edwin shook his head back and forth. He had just seen Sally that evening. How could it be possible that in just a short couple hours someone had taken her life?_

_As for Casey, she collapsed into Derek's chair, sinking into the upholstery. Their world was falling apart. And they weren't mentally stable enough to handle it for much longer. _

'_Investigators found no evidence of anyone having been in the house with Sally, as her mom returned home afterwards from the store. Stab wounds are being carefully studied, as they don't appear to have been made with any kind of knife. No suspects have been found.'_

**AN : Bam.**


	9. There's This Girl

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AN : I firstly want to thank everyone for being so patient for this chapter. It seems like a lifetime since I've updated. My internet has been screwed up lately, so it's made it difficult for me to get this uploaded and posted. Also of course - thanks to all my awesome reviewers. I would have certaintly cut this story off long ago if not for all of you. I know it's driving many of you crazy as to whom the stalker is, but I must say there's no way I'm gonna tell you and ruin all the fun! Besides I love reading the reviews to see who you all are guessing. It's good stuff!

**Anyways, more emotional struggle here for Derek and Casey. This chapter is mainly filler. Yes, there will also be more character deaths. I'm not mentioning any names but this is a horror story, as I keep stating. It's bound to contain some unfair events. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry again about the wait!**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part 9 – There's This Girl_

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It was nearing midnight when they sauntered into the hospital, accompanied by Kendra. Casey thanked God that even after she and Derek broke up, the three of them still remained friends, in a loose sense. Derek and Kendra would occassionally eat lunch together at school still to catch up on things. It'd been a good break-up. One that left them both with an understanding that no matter what - they would always have each other in their lives.

Derek and Casey hadn't wanted to walk all the way to the hospital, and after trying to call both Ralph and Sam twice with no luck, Kendra had been the one Derek suggested. Kendra had of course, had no qualms about coming immediately. After all - she talked to Sheldon too. They were also friends.

So she'd come to pick them up. Derek was in a cold, and distant mood, and had been since the tv report. Of course, Casey couldn't blame him, and after Kendra had learned of Sally's dismissal, she couldn't blame him either.

Casey was walking ahead of them, with the speed as if she was in a marathon. Her face was tired and her eyes were puffy. She didn't know how much longer she could keep all of this up. Her heart went out to Kendra now, for being involved. Her heart went out to Derek because…well…she in a way felt responsible for what happened to Sally. And she knew he was taking it really hard.

Derek was feeling mostly regret. And there were so many questions. Why didn't he just agree to go out with her? Why had he been so harsh to her? Why had he never gotten his chance with her? Why her at all? Why would someone go after her? He knew it was whomever was after Casey, and his teeth ground in anger at just the thought. What high school punk ass kid had the right to end people's lives like this?

Casey was also on his mind – as she always was. He hadn't been able to say anything much to her since the tv news report, but he also hoped she understood why. The shock, the regret, the situation as a whole was something Derek had never had to handle before. And he didn't think he'd ever have to. Sure, people passed away and you go to funerals. But people being murdered and not knowing why or how? People suddenly being taken from you with no warning? Sally being taken from him with no warning? Yeah. It was different.

Still, Casey's well-being was his priority. He knew she was tiring. She had been since day one of this nightmare. It felt like they had been at battle for a year, when it had only been slightly less than a week.

In all honesty, he himself was growing tiresome, but he knew he had to be the strong one. Casey was independent, and relied on no one. Recently that had changed. She depended and relied on him. And there was no way in hell he was going to let her down. They'd have to kill him first.

As they rounded a corner to the 3rd floor patient rooms, Casey stopped at the nurse's station for the room number. After getting it, she didn't bother letting them know, she only marched on with determination. He could tell she was hesitant to enter the room though, seeing as she had slowed down and stumbled slightly outside of it.

Derek swallowed hard. He didn't know really how to feel about what happened to Sheldon yet, though he knew he felt sorry for him. Sorry that he'd gotten tangled in. Thankful he had made it alive. He'd been far more fortunate than Sally. He shoved his hands into his pockets and his gaze softened upon seeing him in the hospital bed, he was hooked up to the blood pressure machine and an IV. He looked tired as hell himself in his injured state.

Emily stood to greet Casey and Kendra, and fill them in on the doctor's report. Derek himself couldn't help but be curious of how he hadn't bled to death over this incident.

Derek pulled a chair up, deciding to let the girls chatter over the incident alone, and he put the chair next to Sheldon's bedside. As he sat down in it, he was immediately met with a piece of paper in his face, and snatched it out of Sheldon's hand.

'Why are you here?'

He rolled his eyes, "I'll be blunt with you Sheldon."

Sheldon nodded, wearing a grim expression on his face. Derek's heart really did go out to him. It had to completely suck not being able to talk.

"You see, I believe the asshole that did this to you is the same one that's been after Casey. Now that Emily's involved, I wouldn't put it past this person to try and harm her too." He paused, watching as Sheldon's glare changed to a look of alert, as he sat up straighter in the bed. "This jerk killed Sally tonight."

Sheldon's eyes widened upon hearing the news. Sally was dead? What was going on? Emily had filled him in on the story of Casey being harassed, and though that was terrible, why was everyone else suffering too?

"As much as I'd still love to pummel you for what you said to Casey this morning, even I'm going to have to set aside that difference. We're going to have to stick together to bring this person down." Derek continued, in a changed tone. His voice was now much more low and cold.

Sheldon thought about his words, and leaned his head back on his pillow. For once in his mind, it seemed as though Derek was right.

"You know Sheldon, if not for me or Casey, do it for Emily."

Derek was 100 right. Upon hearing Emily's name be brought into the conversation, Sheldon shifted in the bed, and gave a very slight nod in Derek's direction.

"You know, I never thought I'd say this but, I'm a lot like you in this perspective. I have someone special, that I really care about to defend. To protect." Derek explained, shooting his gaze over at Casey, who was in the midst of hugging Emily while Kendra stood there with a look of confusion on her face. Guess that still hadn't completely filled her in. He turned back towards Sheldon, "I still haven't really gotten used to it. But I do know that if we let what's between us get in the way we could lose them both."

Sheldon sighed, before taking his notepad in front of him and scribbling down his next response. He handed the paper to Derek, and watched his eyes gaze over it.

'Okay.'

Derek for the first time since the news report felt himself smirk as he looked at Sheldon once again. "Okay."

"Hey." Casey ripped both boys' attention towards her as she sauntered to the bed. She stepped beside Derek as she took Sheldon's hand, "I'm sorry Sheldon."

Sheldon found a warm smile for her, to reassure her that he wasn't holding her for blame on this. He could tell the girl was completely lost at that moment, not knowing what to do or say about a situation like this. Emily stood by his other side, running her hand gently through his hair. "And Derek, I'm really sorry about Sally."

Derek's eyes found the ground for a moment. It still hadn't completely sunk in yet, that Sally was gone forever from him. He glanced back up, now seeing that Casey's eyes had been turned towards him as well. However, he focused on his response towards Emily, "It's alright Em. It's alright."

He felt someone rub his shoulders from behind, and glanced slightly upwards to see Kendra there. Really? Since when had affection and comfort felt so good?

He still couldn't fully accept it, so his hands reached up and grabbed Kendra's to stop them from shuffling down the sides of his shoulders, and he pulled her around to the front of him to stand beside Casey.

"I feel so horrible." Kendra stated as she faced the group of them, "If I'd have known what was happening, I would have been here for you guys the whole time."

Derek shook his head, "Kendra, I don't want you to let any of this burden you. Do your normal things like shopping and getting manicures, but just be cautious now. Always take a friend with you."

Kendra nodded, with an understanding in her eyes. Derek never did have to say much for her to get him. And it was nice that her well-being was still of concern. He didn't want her to be fearful of carrying on with her life, but he did want her to be smart, and safe about it until this was over.

Casey was brutally exhausted at this point, "I think I'm going to just…go to the ladies room for a moment."

She didn't give anyone a chance to respond to her, she only hurried out of the room, away from the sad scene of Sheldon lying in the bed, Emily clutching his hand in concern. Derek sitting in the chair, still in shock over Sally's death. Now Kendra, who had been standing there still in confusion and now bearing that look of reassurance yet un-easiness at the same time.

She tore through the hallway, gaining confused glances from nurses and doctors who were passing by to check on other patients, and as she made it through the doorway of the ladies room, she thanked the Lord above no one else was in there. Because that's when she lost it.

She was pounding the walls, screaming 'why', tears were rolling down her cheeks as she angrily took on the blame for everyone being hurt.

It was her fault Sheldon had been attacked. The psycho wasn't supposed to be going after her loved ones. And why the psycho was? She didn't know. Because she couldn't figure out who it was or why they were doing it. Now Sheldon had to live with something he never deserved in the first place.

It was hurt fault Emily was having to sit in a hospital room and be strong for her boyfriend. She had placed the blame and guilt on someone who'd been so innocent, and even after taking that from her, it's like she was still being punished. She couldn't even enjoy the sound of her own boyfriend's voice anymore.

It was her fault that now Kendra, too, had to live in fear of not being safe. Not at school. Not at home. Not anywhere.

It was her fault that Sally's life ended way before it should have.

It was her fault Derek was having to sit there and deal with the pain of losing Sally. Deal with the extra responsibility of being there for her. That he was being forced to be someone he wasn't. Like he had to care for her, and treat her as if she were fragile.

It was her fault that Max was gone. And she'd never gotten to say goodbye to him.

Oh, Max. How she missed Max. The warmth of his hugs. How he'd always get that clueless look on his face when she'd try to be romantic. How he'd always play along so that he could make her laugh, smile, and be pleased with his attempt.

He was gone. She was sure of it. Why would this psycho spare Max's life and take Sally's? This person had no shame. No regard for human life. Then again this person had spared Sheldon. Though, they had taken something crucial from him. It was still a big mess of confusion. Casey was tired. Tired of dealing, thinking about it. She wanted this person to just…leave her life. And leave the lives of those she cared for. Thank God they hadn't bothered Edwin. And thank God her mom and sister were gone or else they'd be in danger too.

On top of already being tired, her tantrum had only made matters worse, and she found herself leaning against the wall.

Upon her sliding onto the floor, Emily entered the bathroom. "Casey?" she sighed, seeing as her friend was going to be unresponsive. She began walking towards Casey, "I had a feeling I should come check on you."

"Em, I'm so sorry." Casey's muffled voice was shaking from her position on the floor. She had her knees pulled to her chest and her face buried in her arms.

"Sorry for what?" Emily asked, as she kneeled next to her friend.

"I blamed you for something you didn't do. I actually questioned your trust and friendship." Casey told, "And…and now Sheldon's been hurt, and it's all my fault."

Emily shook her head. "Casey it's not your fault Sheldon was hurt. And I don't hold against you what happened this morning." She placed her hand on Casey's shoulder, "I'm not going to lie, at first I was a little hurt. But it didn't take me long to remember that you were Casey. My best friend. The one who would never do something like that without there being a damn good reason for it. And you had one."

"You're too forgiving, Em." Casey replied, wiping some of the tears from her face, "I feel so horrible, and probably will for a long time."

This made Emily smile, "You wouldn't be the Casey I know and love if you didn't let something making you miserable for no reason."

Casey sighed, "And now more people are involved and in danger, Sally lost her life and Derek's suffering for it."

"Casey you can't blame yourself for those things either. Sally's time came before it should have yes, but many people face that same path in life. You trying to take the blame for this is like you trying to just…randomly walk into a morgue, pulling out a body and saying 'Yes it was me who caused the heart attack for this man.'" Emily paused slightly, running her hand through Casey's hair gently, "You can't control the things that happen and I know that bothers you, but, sometimes you just have to take the cards you're dealt and learn how to cope with the results."

Casey sobbed a few times as she listened to Emily's words.

"As for Derek, he's a big boy. He'll be upset for a while, but he'll move on. Because he's Derek. Derek doesn't let anything define or determine the way he'll live his life. And…as selfish as that seems…" Emily paused and shrugged, "That's a pretty healthy way to handle things. Mourn for the right amount of time then move on without regret."

"That doesn't stop the fact that I feel like I'm at fault. None of this would be happening if…if…" Casey stumbled.

"Exactly. There is no "if". Because this…freak…whoever it is would have done this if they wanted to no matter what." Emily kept trying to comfort Casey.

Casey looked over towards Emily, "You're handling this so well."

Emily shrugged, "You weren't here earlier when I was hysterically crying and throwing myself all over Sheldon." She smiled, "But then I thought…I shouldn't be crying like this, I should be thanking God he's still here with me. Even though I may not ever get to hear his wonderful voice the way I used to. I may never get to experience his kiss like I used to, I still get to enjoy the fact that he's with me. I can still hold his hand, and expect him to squeeze it in return."

"Yeah…Sally will never get to experience that. I'll never be able to experience that with Max again." Casey began to tense again, "They're gone Emily. And it is my fault."

Emily sighed. Back to square one. She gave her friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze once more before standing up, "I'm going to get back to Sheldon okay? I'll um, I'll see you back in the room."

Casey nodded through her tears as she watched Emily exit.

Emily knew that this was something out of her hands. She knew of one person, and one person only that could help Casey right now.

Casey was in such an inner battle with herself at the moment. She couldn't even find the mental strength anymore to think through what she was feeling. Which is something she could always do. Emily had sat and given her wonderful advice, and yet? She still felt the same.

Usually she'd be in her head, having the usual 'okay Casey, maybe what Emily said was right,' or 'think about it for a moment Casey, how can it be your fault' thoughts. This time? Nothing was changing her mind. She was being held down by what she believed was true. Not even Emily was pulling her out of this rut.

"Oh geez, here we go."

She didn't even know if he could pull her out.

Derek sighed upon seeing his step sister crumpled up on the floor crying. He could tell her expression was a mixture of confusion, self-doubt, and misery as he approached her, hands in pockets. "Casey come on, get off the floor." He extended a hand towards her.

He didn't know if he could take this right now. Being strong for himself and for her at the same time? That was going to be a stretch. And he may have taken an oath to watch out for her lately, but he was still selfish. He always came first.

Casey didn't bother to take his hand, she only stared at it, and she watched him roll his eyes as he pulled it back and put it back in his pocket. "Aren't you worried about the germs?"

"Go away Derek."

Derek shrugged, "Fine." He spun around and headed for the exit. If there was an opportunity for him to get away from the teary eyed girl, he'd take it. He'd seen way too many of her tears lately anyways.

Upon seeing him cave so easily, Casey's eyes welled up with fresh tears again. What had she done to him? She'd turned him back into the person he was when she first met him. Not wanting to bother himself with her and turning his back on her when she really actually did need him.

Derek sighed upon hearing the whimpering escape her. Should he feel like an asshole for turning his back so fast? No. That was who he was.

Sally had died, he was never going to see her again, and he was still in process of mourning over her death, the last thing he need was to waste his so – called emotions on the same person who'd been taking advantage of them all week already.

Still, for the sake of not being completely heartless, he had to at least get her out of the bathroom. He sighed again and spun around to face her, "Alright Casey, come on, I'm not going to leave the bathroom without you. Let's go."

"No Derek just go."

"No I won't just go." Derek snapped at her, causing her expression to change to one of surprise as he stomped back towards her. "Now I'm sick of this bullshit."

Casey glared at him. What bullshit? "Derek, what are you-"

"What am I talking about? I'll tell you what I'm talking about!" Derek threw his hands in the air in a frustrated manner, "I give and I give until I don't know who I am anymore, and you take and you take until you drain me dry without giving anything back!"

Casey's face twisted to one of confusion. What was this all about?

"I do my best all week to be there for you, by your side, to pick you up when you're down and I haven't seen any results yet! I even allow you to cry, and I have to stand there, feeling you soak my shoulder while you do so, I've been the positive one, for you. I've been the caring one, for you." Derek continued, "Yet here you are, still a crying emotional mess, and thus proving that nothing I have done has changed the way you feel, nothing I have said has helped."

Casey's jaw hung slightly open. She was at a loss for words. Speechless. Derek never made any sense. Yet somehow now, all was understood.

"Now finally when I take a hit, you're still the same and now I'm in a place where I can't help you." He marched over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders roughly, "Sally is dead okay? And I can't put what I'm feeling about that aside because you still haven't found your strength yet."

Derek let his head hang towards the floor for a second, before he whipped it back up to glare at her again, "For the first time in my life I found someone I want to care for. You. I want to care for you. But because you're not letting me? I'm tired now. And you aren't caring for me in return." He finally released her shoulders and took a couple of steps backwards, "Which proves that me letting my guard down, and being someone other than my normal self has been a mistake." He held his hands up, "Because here we are Casey. Back in square one."

Casey swallowed hard. "Derek, I-"

"You know what Casey, this isn't all about you anymore. Maybe at first when the sicko was just screwing with you on messenger." Derek threw his hand in the air with a pointed finger, "But people are dying now. Sheldon lost his damn tongue because of this, Sally's gone, I've realized that Max probably is as well, yet you're still playing the victim role."

Casey sighed and faced the ground in a shameful manner.

"You know I need…or we need to be thinking about what we're going to do on Sunday when the family comes back. If this is still going on, God forbid…" he paused for a second and watched her stand up and scuff at the floor with her shoe, "What will happen to them? They're going to be thrown into the mix as well. Attending Sally's funeral is bad enough but I don't want to attend my dad's. Or Smarti's."

Realization dawned on Casey at that moment. How and when did the tables get turned like this? Derek was absolutely right. He had become the unselfish one here. And she had taken his place. She used to never put her own feelings before so many other people's and yet? She had. "You're right."

"And I think it's really lame and unfair that you can still sit here and act like this when –" Derek paused, and stopped his pacing and fit throwing, "I'm what?"

"You're right Derek." Casey glanced up at him finally, "I've been selfish."

Derek stood in silence, before folding his arms over his chest, watching her struggle over he next sentence.

"I've been too sidetracked with the way I feel about this when the picture is much bigger than that. I'm not the only one suffering in this situation." She paused for a moment, "I'm sorry."

It never took her too long to break. Derek had to hand it to her – she still had her brains and beauty in any situation she faced. Still, it wasn't to say that she was completely cured. And he didn't expect her to be completely emotionless. But he did expect her to have a little bit of a backbone. Find a little bit of strength. "Good. I'm glad you understand now."

She folded her arms over her chest in a conscious manner and sighed. He held out his arm and waved her his way, "Come here Case."

She raised an eyebrow, "I'm not deserving of a hug if that's what you're going to give me."

Derek cocked his head to the side as his arm dropped, "How do you know I was even going to give you a hug? I might have had the intentions of dragging you out of the room."

"If you were going to do that, you would have done so already." Casey shot back.

"Well at least you still know that I have the ability to perform such a task." Derek said matter of factly, a smirk coming to his features. But it quickly went away as he pointed a finger at her, "And I'll decide whether or not your worthy of being in my arms."

Casey huffed, and watched as a contemplative expression passed over his face. She couldn't help but analyze the situation that had just occurred once more. Derek Venturi had snapped her out of whatever it was she was in, and made her realize that she wasn't in this alone. She never had been. He'd been there for her from the start, and now, Emily, Kendra, Ralph, Sam, and Sheldon were with her as well. They were all in this for the long run. Side by side. They were in this together.

Her thoughts were jarred away as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her in an embrace that felt all too good. She wanted to stay there forever.

"And I don't want to hear anymore of this 'it's all my fault' mumbo jumbo either." Derek told her firmly, and she felt his chest heave as he sighed afterwards. "You're my light, Casey McDonald. So I expect you to shine for me like you know you should."

Casey raised her head up off his chest to steal a glance at him. "I'm your light?"

"Yeah." Derek responded calmly. Something about having her in his arms did that to him. He pulled her away and glared at her, "But that doesn't get around or I'll deny it." He paused, walking towards the door, "I have a reputation to uphold."

Casey watched him walk out of the bathroom. Out of all the tragedy of the situation. Out of all the doom and gloom, and even after he had chewed her so hard, he still made her feel like there was going to be an end to it. An end to the pain, and suffering. And he would see it through with her.

He brought a calming to her. At the same time he'd been blunt and almost heartless. He'd risked offending her just so she could know the truth. Just so she could open her eyes to see how many were truly by her side, and understood what she was going through. He'd called her his light.

She walked over to the sink and glanced into the mirror above it, sighing. "Casey McDonald, you are blessed. That puffy eyed look doesn't fit." She splashed some water on her face. No. That look would have to go. After all, now she was expected to shine. And shine she would.

When Derek returned to the room, Emily had her head rested on Sheldon's chest, who had slipped into a light sleep. Kendra was sitting with her elbow propped up on one of the tables, looking tired herself.

"Kendra, you ready to leave?" Derek asked, walking over to her and kneeling in front of her.

"I am tired. School in the morning so I should probably get going." Kendra replied, pulling her purse over her shoulder.

Derek nodded, and took her hand as she stood up. He walked over to Emily and placed his hand on the back of her head, stroking through some of her hair. "Emily, I've gotta get Kendra home, alright?"

Emily groaned a little bit before sitting up straighter in her chair, "Well thanks for coming to see us, and…" she paused, looking back into his tired eyes, "I'm sorry again about Sally."

"Me too." Derek replied, leaning down to kiss her forehead before taking Kendra's hand again and walking towards the door.

He ran into Casey there. "Kendra's tired. And we should probably get home and rest too."

Casey nodded, "I'm just going to say bye to Emily. I'll meet you downstairs."

Derek grunted in approval as he and Kendra disappeared from the doorway and headed to the elevators.

"Thanks Kendra, for coming up here and giving us the ride." Derek said as they rounded the corner from the patient rooms and he punched the down arrow button at the elevator.

"It's fine. I'm sorry I had no idea you guys were going through so much." Kendra replied, "I wish there was more I could do to help."

"No you've helped enough." Derek responded, "Casey and I are grateful."

Kendra nodded silently, before turning her head back towards the elevator, which had just opened. A few people stepped out, and then she and Derek stepped in. He pushed the 1st floor button and leaned against the side of the elevator.

After they exited on the 1st floor and went into the waiting lobby, Kendra decided to make more conversation. "So you know…I'm sorry for asking but I really just want to know…how did all this happen anyways?"

Derek glanced up at her. She still hadn't been filled completely in?

"I mean, I know there's someone apparently who took an interest in Casey and now it's just gotten all out of hand, but how did it get to this point?" she posed another question, as curiosity filled her eyes.

Derek sighed, "That's just it Kendra. That is pretty much it. It started out some guy has this crush on her. And it's all just escalated from there." He began to pace the floor, and Kendra took a seat on the small couch in front of him.

"Yeah I just don't understand why he would attack Sheldon…why Sally? And Max?"

"Max…isn't really anything we can be sure of, he's just been missing. Casey and I got these…" he paused, "Horrible pictures of his car on fire and going over a ledge."

Kendra sighed. She couldn't help but fear for her own safety if not just a little. This person liked Casey but had gone after those around her. Whose to say they wouldn't come after her as well? "And why haven't you gotten the police involved?"

"Well they're going to be now, no matter what. Now people are really getting hurt and dying." Derek glanced at her and folded his arms, "I don't know why I didn't want them involved at first. I didn't think things would get this serious."

Kendra nodded. She supposed she could understand that. No one would think something like this at first would never be this serious later on. "Casey doesn't seem to be handling it very well."

Derek sighed again, "Well, she is but she isn't."

He'd replied so quickly and so shortly at the mention of Casey. Kendra could read and understand his facial expressions almost better than anyone else, and she could see that his eyes held more concern for her than anybody. It was no shocker to her.

**XOXO**

"So I know not to count on seeing you in school tomorrow." Casey told, standing on the opposite side of Sheldon's bed as Emily.

Emily shook her head, "I just can't leave him." She sighed, "It's amazing what loving someone can do to you Case. I just…hope you're able to feel that someday. Once…all this is over of course."

Casey managed a smile for her friend sitting across from her. It made her happy that she was so happy. Thank God Emily was such a good friend, and Casey felt bad for ever thinking otherwise. They'd already managed to make amends and now Emily was wishing her blessings upon her.

She knew that she would maybe have that chance, someday, to feel the love that Emily felt with Sheldon, with someone of her own.

Of course, she had thought Max would be that one. But he'd been ripped away from her all too soon. "Emily?" Casey asked and watched her friend's face glance attentively in her direction. "Do you think Max is gone?"

Emily's expression twisted into a grim one, and she wore a frown on her face, "Honestly Case. I don't know." She watched Casey nod weakly before adding, "But I think that you do."

Casey's gaze turned into a pained one, "I don't know Em. It's like…you know when you've shared a connection with someone, and it's almost like…like…"

Emily could tell she was struggling with finding the right words to finish her sentence so she decided to help out a little, "You can feel them?"

"Yeah." Casey replied, pointing a finger over at her.

Emily nodded in return, and waited for Casey to continue.

"I just can't feel him anymore. My heart feels empty like…I just know he's not there anymore." Casey explained, hoping she was making some sort of sense out of her jibberish. "I don't know, I don't want to hope for the worst and my intuition could just be telling me I'm no longer connected to him because of the breakup but…"

"But…it's not likely that's the case." Emily finished for her grimly.

Casey nodded. "I miss him Em. The way we ended things…it just wasn't fair. I know we would have talked again. We will talk again if that chance is still possible. Because it just doesn't feel right that we parted on those terms."

"If it's meant to be that you have that moment, it will happen Casey." Emily informed, "But if not? Well…you have another boy who is just as crazy for you if not more crazy."

"I take it you're talking about Derek." Casey sighed.

Emily brought a smile to her face, "See? Still the smart Casey I know."

"I don't know about him Em." Casey responded, with a slight shake of her head.

"What's not to know?" Emily asked , her eyes burning in curiosity.

"He drives me crazy and makes it so hard for me to even like him." Casey told, "But at the same time, I'm crazy for him and it's so hard for me to not like him."

Emily laughed a little at this, "Welcome to the world of love."

"I wouldn't use such a strong word yet."

"Ah, but there is a yet. A big yet."

"I don't know, maybe you're right. Maybe I do love him."

"You must."

Casey raised an eyebrow, "How do you figure?"

Emily shrugged, "Oh I don't know. Just the way you both will carry on about each other. The way you somehow can just look at each other and make that connection. Then upon making that connection it's like you feel exactly what the other is feeling. You get each other. Not a lot of people get you the way Derek does. And vice versa."

"I suppose."

"And his concern for you is off the chain. I've never seen Derek show concern like that for anyone. When I came in and told him he needed to go see you in the restroom. That you weren't well, there were no questions asked. He shot up off the chair and left to come to you lightning fast." Emily informed, "When he was walking back into the room he was mumbling something about 'if that girl still doesn't think I care even after standing in the women's restroom for 10 minutes…' You know how Derek can be. Though, don't tell him I told you that, I'm pretty sure he thought no one could hear him mumbling."

A small smile formed on Casey's face upon hearing that. It was true, he had come to her and spent 10 minutes in the women's restroom just to make her feel better, and help her realize the hard truth of her mood.

"So I'm curious though, what exactly did he say that calmed you down and got you out of the restroom?" Emily asked.

"Oh…" Casey trailed off, her smile getting even bigger as she remembered the conversation, "He gave me a hug and called me his light."

Emily wanted to jump up and say 'awwww'. Yep. That confirmed it. Derek was crazy for the girl. And she could tell, sitting there watching Casey's smile only grow larger by the second, that she was just as crazy for him. She didn't know what tomorrow would hold for any of them. She didn't know when the nightmare would end. But she did know one thing. Everything would be alright again someday.

**XOXO**

"What do you mean your mom dragged you out of town on a school night?" Derek exclaimed into his cell phone as he walked through the front door of the house, followed by Casey.

It was after 1 in the morning now. They were both exhausted. Ralph had finally called Derek to return his message, and Casey could now hear Derek saying something like 'is your grandma going to be okay?' into the phone.

She wasted no time in running upstairs to check on Edwin. While she found it completely insane they'd even left him home to begin with, Derek had given him a long lecture before they'd left that the doors were to stay locked and if he so much had heard something funny outside that he was to call the police.

As she leaped up the stairs and made it to his doorway, she discovered that he wasn't in his bed asleep. She thought it seemed odd, but noticed that the bathroom door was closed and maybe Edwin was in there. She walked over to the door and tapped on it, "Edwin are you in there?" Silence. "Edwin?" she called out once more. Still nothing but silence.

Where could he be? What was he doing? Did he fall asleep in some odd location? Had he snuck out? There was no telling when it came to Edwin Venturi.

Casey decided to head into her room to drop off her purse and change, before she'd further the investigation. She really was too tired to play hide and seek at the moment, but Edwin had to be found. Derek had made it upstairs, and she caught more snippets of the conversation as she walked through the doorway to her room.

"Did you catch the news tonight by chance while you were down there?...yeah. It's true…Of course I'm upset, wouldn't you be if you had spent your work shifts and had a thing for the girl? Besides she was my friend."

The door to his room shut behind him, and Casey's face saddened. She still couldn't believe Sally was gone. She closed her bedroom door as well, and she plopped her things down on her bed, heading over to her dresser to pull out her clothes. What a day. It had been the longest one yet. As if things couldn't have gotten worse than they already had before now. She sat on the side of her bed and kicked off her shoes. She walked over towards the closet and removed her top, when she heard a rustling sound come from inside it. She froze in place. She could hear the sound of faint breathing coming from inside the closet, but she was still frozen. She didn't want to move. Didn't want to scream. Nothing. "E…Edwin? Is that you?" she barely breathed out.

She knew it was something. Hopefully maybe a mouse. If it was a mouse it sure was a big, loud one. And she knew she wouldn't be able to rely on Derek to save her from that.

"I've been waiting for you … Casey…" the voice breathed back.

Casey squeezed her eyes shut, and swallowed hard. What if it was…the one? The one who'd killed Sally, maybe Max, and the dog? The one who had cut Sheldon's tongue out? The one who was after her? What if he'd been hiding in her closet, just waiting for her to come home? What if Edwin was dead?

"Are you scared?" it breathed out at her.

She couldn't stand her line of thinking anymore. She couldn't stand being this paranoid. But what was she to do? She'd been getting terrorized for almost a week now. You could never be too careful or too certain anymore. She heard whatever it was laugh at her from the other side. To think, all that separated her from it was a thin closet shudder door.

"RAWR!" the closet doors burst open, a figure jumped out and grabbed her, and she screamed. Loud.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" The figure pushed her away and held his hands over his ears.

Casey blinked a few times as her screaming ceased, and she watched the figure dressed in black and a bandit mask glare up at her. Yes, he was shorter.

"Dang. Are you trying to make me go deaf?"

She was going to seriously hurt Edwin. Thank God she had a tank top on underneath the shirt she'd already removed. "Edwin what were you doing in my closet?!"

Not even a second later, Derek came flying through the door, nearly breaking it off its hinges as he rushed inside to see what all the commotion had been about. "What's going on? Where are they? I'll kill them!"

His eyes darted around the room, and Casey rolled her eyes, "Hello? Earth to Derek? The one dressed as a robber standing by my closet?" she caught Derek's attention and motioned towards Edwin, who was in the process of removing his mask.

Derek's eyes glared over at his younger brother. What the hell.

"It was just a joke! I had no idea you were going to freak out like that!" Edwin defended, "I mean, I knew if I actually managed to pull it off you'd be scared, but seriously I had no idea-"

Edwin had no chance to finish his sentence, before Derek had him by the collar, and slammed against Casey's bedroom wall.

"Explain yourself Ed. And it better be good." Derek seethed, "And even if it is, guess what? I'm still going to beat the hell out of you."

"Why?" Edwin almost pleaded, "You can't tell me that if you had the chance you wouldn't have done it!"

Derek normally would have leaped at the chance to do it. But with what was happening lately? He'd never play this kind of prank on anyone. It was way too cruel.

"That is nowhere near an answer for what I asked you." Derek responded gruffly.

Edwin swallowed hard, seeing that his brother was still at least going to be merciful enough to hear an explanation. "Well…I…I…"

"Spit it out you moron." Derek commanded. He was already growing tiresome of this.

Casey had finally gotten to a place where she could calm her rapidly beating heart from the scare.

Edwin sighed, "I need to talk to Casey it's really important."

Casey had listened intently to his excuse and is seemed very genuine. She took a couple steps forward.

"So you hid in her closet and scared the shit out of her?" Derek asked slowly, before adding, "Yeah. Great way to get her attention. Dipshit."

Edwin smirked, "It worked, didn't it?"

"Why you little-" Derek ground out as he readied his fist for Edwin's face.

"Stop stop! Derek stop!"

Casey always had to get in the way, didn't she? Derek shot her an annoyed glare as she stepped beside him and pushed his arm to his side, "I'm sure Edwin has a good reason for needing to talk to me."

"Yeah but his little stunt he just pulled is completely unforgivable." Derek shot back at her, still not releasing his grip on Edwin's collar.

Edwin raised an eyebrow, "Why are you sticking up so much for Casey lately, bro?"

Derek's glare landed on Edwin once again, "Oh, so now you're questioning my actions?"

Edwin shook his head back and forth quickly. "No no you're right. Stupid question."

"That's what I thought you little punk." Derek replied, slightly shoving him towards the wall again, before letting go of his collar. He folded his arms while Edwin regained his composure.

Casey sighed and turned to face Edwin, "So what's on your mind? I'm glad to help."

Edwin glanced at her, ready to talk, but his gaze caught Derek's again.

Derek knew what Edwin wanted. For him to leave. There was no way in hell he was going to do that. With what he pulled tonight added with all the flattery he'd been throwing at Casey lately? Ha. He had another thing coming. Put two and two together? It was all too suspicious. A prideful smirk grazed his features. Derek Venturi was not a stupid man. Of course, it was hard to suspect Edwin was capable of any of the incidents that had occurred lately, but still. "I'm not leaving Ed. Whatever you have to say will have to be said in front of me also."

Edwin sighed. Casey had no qualms. And it was a good thing, because at that moment, she knew she would have lost that argument to Derek. She motioned for Edwin to sit down on her bed, and he did so, taking a deep breath. "So…"

Casey raised an eyebrow attentively. She was all ears. Much to Edwin's dismay, so was Derek.

"There's this girl." Edwin spat out quickly.

Derek blinked a few times as he took a seat in Casey's computer chair. He had pulled all this crap because he wanted to tell Casey 'there's this girl'?

"Okay, at school?" Casey helped him along.

"Uh…well yeah." Edwin replied, "We also see each other a lot outside of school."

Derek stood to his feet, "Please tell me it's not that Amanda chic again, because if so Edwin, you just need to grow the balls to-"

"It's not Amanda!" Edwin snapped, causing Derek to fall silent.

"Did you just snap at me?" Derek pointed an accusing finger towards him.

"Sorry." Edwin responded quickly before gazing back at Casey, "Um it's not Amanda, it's a different girl."

"And you go to school with her, but…you also see her a lot outside of school." Casey finished, "I gotcha."

Edwin nodded, and shifted his position on her bed, "And see…this situation is really complicated because…well…how do I say it…"

Casey didn't quite know what Edwin was trying to say, or why it was so hard for him. He struggled with girl's period. But usually he could spit out what was bothering him before now. "Well, have I met this girl?"

Edwin glanced at her, almost like he wanted to laugh, "Yeah…yeah you know her alright."

Casey pondered for a moment. Who could it be? "So are you going to tell me who it is?"

"Well I don't really know if I should tell you who just yet. I'm more so wanting advice on how to impress a girl. How do I get a girl's attention?" Edwin continued, as he watched Casey nod her head in return.

Derek hmphed from behind them. "So let me get this straight." He paused as he watched both Edwin and Casey's gazes fall upon him again, "You want to know how to impress girls? And you're asking Casey?"

"Well…I tried complimenting her all week…you know to see how she would respond." Edwin replied.

Ahhh. Now it was all making sense.

"Well but see Edwin, all girls are different. The way I respond will be different from the way another girl would respond, especially since I'm much older. There's a difference with age too." Casey explained.

Edwin laid back on the bed in a frustrated manner, "But this girl…it's like she doesn't even know I'm complimenting her when I do compliment her. She just brushes it off as if the words don't mean anything to her. I need something that will surprise her. Something new." He folded his arms across his chest.

Derek glanced at his watch. He decided he was bored of this conversation and because of that, he was going to end it for everyone. "You know what Ed? It's after 1. Casey and I are tired. You have school. We have school. This talk can be saved for later." Derek yawned, before yanking him off of Casey's bed, "And you know what, you're ass kicking is going to have to wait as well cause I'm too tired right now to deal with it."

Casey glared up at Derek but knew it was no use to argue. It was late. She was tired. And they all did have school. "Edwin I promise we'll talk about this another time." She told him as she watched Derek pull him from the room.

Edwin was too excited over the fact that he wasn't going to experience the ass kicking Derek had threatened him with until a later time, so he hadn't heard what Casey said. He did manage though, to shoot a 'good night Casey and I'm sorry for what I did,' in her direction before he was completely pulled out of the room.

Casey sighed, and shook her head upon the two boys exiting, and lied back on her bed, emitting a long sigh. She didn't even feel like changing her clothes anymore. She was spent. Still, it would bother her if she didn't so she stood up and quickly changed into her night attire. As she pulled back her blankets, she heard her messenger go off. For the second time within 15 minutes she froze in place.

Oh no. Not now. Not tonight. Why?

Her gut went into a nervous frenzy as she called for Derek. He peeked his head through her doorway a minute later, cell phone on one ear, "What now? I just called Ralph back."

She didn't have to say anything to him for him to know something was wrong. The look on her face was the same look she always wore after she'd been scared. And really scared. She shakily lifted her hand to point a finger towards her computer, and Derek glanced over at it. Walking into the room, he mumbled to Ralph that he'd call him back yet again, and headed towards the computer. What did the asshole want now? Even psycho's had to sleep sometime, right? Why couldn't this person just leave them alone?

Casey walked over to cling to one side of Derek as he read the IM on the computer screen.

'The next time you scream, it will be for me.'

* * *

**AN : DUN DUN DUNNNN!!**


	10. Pillow Talk

**AN : FINALLLLY IT IS HERRRREEEE!! I extend my most sincere apologies to everyone for having to be so patient and wait so long for this part to be released. After finishing it once, then having to start over from scrap, I really wanted to take the time to write it how I had originally written it. Of course, I couldn't get it done exactly the same way, and I have re-read over this part and edited it so many times, my head has been spinning!! However, I hope that everyone will be pleased with what this chapter has to offer. Another plot twist and 2 more character deaths here - though they are not described in the usual detail. There was alot else to cover besides them. I hope that's not too much of a dissappointment, I pride myself over the detail, however, I also felt enough of my blood, sweat, and time went into this chapter as it is. I'm ready for this story to progress! And I know you all are as well. So! Shall we carry on?**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part 10 – Pillow Talk_

* * *

"You are one crazy bitch, I hope that you are aware of that."

Derek groaned as the body that had suddenly leapt on top of him shifted to his left side. She huffed in response, and he smirked, deciding to milk the moment for all it was worth, "And you may appear to be skinny, but hopefully no one ever assumes that because of that factor, you are in any way light."

"Look I didn't come in here to be insulted."

"Oh? Damn. I was on a role too."

"You're such a jerk."

"Yeah yeah." Derek sighed, moving into a sitting position on his bed and crossing his arms over his chest, "So what made you decide to throw yourself on top of me at almost 4 in the morning?"

"I got scared."

"You got scared."

"Yes. Do I not have a right to be or something?"

"Not at this time of night, especially when I was sound asleep having a wonderful dream about a blonde girl with big-"

"Okay I think I've heard enough."

Casey was glaring at him in annoyance at this point. Ever since she'd entered the room she'd been nothing but insulted and repulsed by Derek. She felt him sigh.

"Okay Case. So…you're scared?"

"Yes."

Derek sighed. Of course she was going to give him simple replies, because he just knew she wanted to talk. At 4 in the morning she wanted to talk. So now he was going to have to ask her 20 things to get her to finally spill why she was really scared, and then maybe, just maybe he could go back to sleep around 5:30 and get an hour more sleep before school. Girls. He sighed, "And…the reason for that is?"

She sighed in return, as she turned her back away from him from her position on the bed, "What if I die?"

Derek had not expected her to give him that kind of response. What the hell was she thinking? "Casey, what kind of…where did you come up with…" he really didn't know what to say to her, "You're not going to die why would you ask me that?"

"Isn't it a valid question? Given the circumstances?"

He shook his head even though she wasn't facing him, "No it's not. I don't care what the circumstances are, you're never allowed to ask me such a thing."

"But-"

"No there are no 'buts' here." Derek grunted from beside her. It was safe to say he was annoyed with the situation. He didn't want to think about Casey dying. Never did he want to think about her leaving him.

"Just listen! I know as well as you do that it isn't something enjoyable to think about either, but with what's been going on and…others…that already have lost their lives-"

"You mean, Sally?"

"Well…Sheldon too almost, and Max, I'm just thinking-"

"Well stop thinking. That's your problem. You've been in your head too damn much. Have you even slept at all?"

"Um-"

"I take that as a no."

Casey sat up on his bed to glare at him, throwing her arms in the air in frustration, "Well I'm sorry Derek, you know I'm a thinker, and I can't help it sometimes, you know, I just –"

She was cut off, "No more thinking. Or talking. Only sleeping Casey. We have school."

Her jaw dropped, "You can't tell me what to do!!"

"I just did."

"Der-ek!!"

"Derek is sleeping."

She swatted at him lightly, and he only scoffed at her, "Okay fine. What?"

"Aren't you bothered at all?! I mean, how is it so easy for you to just sleep with everything that's been going on lately?" Casey screeched at him.

Derek sighed, as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "Casey. It's not easy, okay? I'll agree with you on that." He paused as he watched her sit back up and nod, "But what happened to them? Wasn't my fault. It was just unfortunate. I am upset. I miss Sally already with all of my heart. But if I let everything that's happened so far weigh me down, and this happens to anymore of our friends, or loved ones, then I will have some responsibility. Because I was too busy being bent over the past that I didn't pay enough attention to the present. And I can stop this. I will stop this."

Casey shook her head slightly, giving him a questioning glance, "Derek, since when have you been so smart about things like this? Since when have you cared?"

"Since it started. Alright? And I think it's pointless to have to sit here at this time of night and explain it to you." Derek defended, "All I know is that it's stupid to be wound up in your past. And people who do that annoy me. Still stuck living in their yesterday's that they can't live for their today's. Great way to blow your life."

He waved her off and turned her back towards her, before promptly laying down. "Now go to sleep will you?"

Casey sighed, but didn't make any move to return to her own room. He continued to listen and be aware of her movements, her breathing. And he knew she still wasn't done talking.

"You know…" Casey sighed for the 15th time in 15 seconds. "I wish I could be like you."

"But I'm a slacker and an ass-"

"Not those qualities you moron." Casey snapped with an edgy tone. "I mean…having your line of thinking. I must admit it seems more healthy than mine."

"Pfft." Derek almost laughed, "Finally after telling you a thousand times over the span of our relationship to not worry so much about everything, you grasp the concept."

She was silent. No witty comeback. No snap back at him. Just silence.

"I feel so responsible about Max."

"What? Oh hell." He was annoyed beyond belief now. Just when he thought he could be the one in her heart, there she was bringing up that moron again. "Just so you know, that's really stupid."

"How can you not understand that I feel somewhat responsible?"

"I understand that it's stupid you feel somewhat responsible."

"You know what? I don't even know why I bother with you, you don't get me at all." She huffed furiously and crossed her arms. It was like everything they'd been through…well…relationship wise, over the past several days had all gone down the drain all of a sudden.

Upon her quirky response, Derek raised an eyebrow and flashed her a challenging expression, pointing a finger at her, "You don't think I get you?"

"Not at all." Casey had her nose in the air, almost as if she was looking down upon his type.

Derek cleared his throat, and rolled up his sleeves, as if preparing for an arm wrestling match. He'd show her. "You feel responsible that he's missing and or dead, because you can't get over the fact that you parted on bad terms, and you also can't stand the fact that you could have ever made him feel like he was put on the back burner compared to me. You're thinking that maybe if you'd have just said something else, or said something different, he wouldn't have been so angry." He informed, watching her expression change to one that clearly said, 'wait! How do you know that?!' He smirked, "Oh yeah, and you even regret defending me when he confronted you about what I said, because you feel like that helped him make the final decision to break up with you, and you should have just played the sweet, quiet girlfriend who agrees with everything their boyfriend says no questions asked. But you blew it."

Casey was speechless. Really. How did he know all that?

"Am I missing it anywhere princess?"

She still was speechless.

His smirk grew even bigger as he leaned in towards her, his face only centimeters away from hers, "Bam."

She huffed, and puffed, and shifted around. It was great. Derek was actually enjoying it quite a bit, as he went back to his previous position. After another few seconds of her throwing her semi-silent fit, Derek yawned. "I'm tired of repeating myself to you. I'm tired of telling you it's not your fault. If you say one more thing of that sort, I will be flaming pissed. I mean, Chist Casey, I don't know what more I would have to do to convince you of it. And right now I'm so tired that nothing would come to mind. So, no more of this pillow talk. Let's slee-"

"You know what I've decided to do?"

He sighed, and rubbed his temples. "What?"

"I'm going to just…hand myself over."

"Come again?"

"I'm going to hand myself over."

"I know what it means Case, why the hell would you hand yourself over?"

Casey turned to face him, an eager look in her eyes. "Don't you know what that would do? This would end. It'd be over."

"And frankly. I don't give a fuck." Derek had immediately gotten angry with the idea of Casey ever putting herself into the hands of the psycho that'd been taking lives and hurting people lately. Not to mention had threatened them countless times and caused extreme discomfort all week.

Her jaw dropped open, "What-"

"There's no way in hell I'm going to just stand by and let you do something like that." Derek continued ranting, "Casey this person whoever it is , has proven capable of murder, which is the worst thing in the world. Which also means, he's capable of everything else under the red sun."

Casey blinked a few times, "You think I don't know that? That's why I want to just do it Derek it's the best way-"

Derek's anger over took him. He grabbed her fiercely, and after minimal struggle, he pinned her to the bed with his body over hers, "No fucking way am I going to let you do that to yourself."

"At this point Derek, I really don't mind at all!" Casey snapped, feeling the pressure of his hands that grasped her arms so tightly, "Because I'd rather sacrifice one life for many! I don't want this to keep going! I don't want to lose Lizzie! Or my mom! I don't want to lose Emily!" her voice was cracking slightly and Derek knew that the tears were coming, "And you know what, if I'd have had the chance to save Sheldon his pain, and Sally her life, I would have too!"

"You make it sound so un-selfish, but to me, it's the most selfish thing you could do!" Derek snapped in return, his glare boring into her eyes angrily, as his grip tightened on her arms, keeping them at her sides. "Because us going through life without you…" he paused, and his voice softened a bit. She could tell he was struggling over whether or not he should stay angry and strict, or not. "…me having to go through life without you…"

He released her arms, noticing he had been gripping them a little too tightly. He hoped he hadn't cut off any circulation, and she hadn't seemed to notice. Her eyes stayed with his, even though they had been glaring, angry, and full of fire. He sighed deeply, "That's something I never want to have to experience."

She shifted slightly from underneath him, and her facial expression urged him to continue.

"What I'm trying to say Casey is that losing Sally was hard." Derek spilled, "But losing you would kill me."

Before Casey knew it he had reached down and pulled her into his arms. He held her so close, and so tightly, all she could do is rest her head on his shoulder.

"If this person got a hold of you, I would be a mess. I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about what they were putting you through, what they were doing to you, and the fact that you were in their arms instead of mine."

Casey smiled. So this is what it felt like. To really belong to someone. To know that no matter what they said on the surface, when it came down to it, they wouldn't trade you for the world. They wouldn't trade your one single life for many others. It was a beautiful thing.

Derek sighed, and finally broke the hug. He didn't even know why he was putting up with all this mumbo jumbo at such a God-awful hour of the night. "Are we done now?"

Casey bit her bottom lip and nodded. She watched as he rolled over, turning away from her, and rested his head on his pillow. She supposed she had kept him up long enough and decided he deserved to sleep now. However, there was one more thing she needed to ask him.

"Derek?"

"What is it now?"

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

Derek's eyes bugged out almost as if he were a cartoon character. Had she really just asked such a thing of him? Thank God she hadn't seen the entire display. He mentally slapped the expression away, as he rolled over and sat up, "You want to sleep? In here? With me? In my bed? That's what you just asked me right? I mean, I'm not dreaming or anything?"

Casey smiled, trying to hold back laughter. She knew if she were to laugh she'd completely destroy the cute moment she'd caught Derek in. All stuttering and full of questions. "Is that okay with you?"

"Uh, well…" Derek scratched his head, "I mean I guess if you want to, I could sleep on the floor, and-"

"Derek Venturi offering his bed to his step-sister? The one he can't stand?" Casey couldn't help but give him crap for this.

She watched as he frowned towards her, eyes glaring. "Hey, by all means you can go back to your own room and be by yourself if you want to rub it in my face like that. It's not like I care anyway whether or not you get any sleep. The main reason I'm offering is so you'll shut up. Then maybe I can get some sleep."

Casey rolled her eyes. Back to normal already. However, as much as an argument could easily be started here, she wasn't going to initiate anything hostile, "Derek, thank you for the offer. I'll gladly accept."

Derek huffed and mumbled a few things before grabbing his pillow and scooting to get off his bed, when her soft hand on his arm stopped him. He glanced back at her.

"You sleeping on the floor isnt neccisary." Casey told him, watching his facial expression switch to pure shock.

"You want me to sleep in the bed? With you? Us? Together? At the same time?"

Questions flooded again, as Casey nodded in response to all of them.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Derek wondered, "I mean," he cleared his throat, "You don't snore, do you?"

"Of course not!" Casey snapped, swatting him on the arm, "Though…I suppose us sharing a bed would be a drastic decision. I mean, we can't even manage to hold hands, let alone this."

Derek paused for a moment to think about what she had said. He cared for Casey. That was true. But the thought of holding her hand? Sleeping in a bed with her? No. Still too scary. He blinked a few times, "I'll just sleep on the floor." He scooted off the bed to the floor and laid down.

Casey sighed in defeat. Though, she couldn't exactly blame him either. She had just made herself comfortable when his head popped back up, pointing a finger towards her, "But this never happened." He paused, "I have to protect my rep."

She smiled to herself. Go figure.

Somehow sleeping in the same room as Derek cured the lack of sleep problem Casey would have normally had. Her heart soared along with her through the doors of the school a few hours later. She didn't even know if it was necessarily fair that she could wear a smile on her face while she was caught in the middle of such a big, grim, mess. But she wasn't going to let herself destroy her own heart's peace this time. She knew the battle wasn't over. She knew she needed to be prepared for more tragedy in case the occasion called for it. And she knew that she might not even make it out alive. But she could now officially say that if she did die, she would die loved, and being in love.

In fact, when Kendra rushed up to her almost immediately, she felt bad as the words, "Casey, are you listening?" rang through her ears.

"Huh what? Oh." She paused, a look of regret on her face, "I'm sorry Kendra."

She noticed Kendra had a very panicked and frantic expression, and her eyebrow quirked, "Are you alright?"

Kendra swallowed, "I found this in my locker this morning." She extended her arm out, to reveal a folded up piece of paper.

Casey caught her breath in her throat, and reluctantly took the note from Kendra. As she unfolded it, she easily knew the bold, all caps, handwriting was all too familiar.

'**ANGEL OF HEAVEN, YOU FINALLY KNOW MY EVIL**

**BUT YOU'LL SOON EARN YOUR WINGS, NOT ALL CAN BE HEROES.'**

Casey glanced at Kendra, blinking with immediate remorse. "Kendra…I…" she paused, "I knew it was a bad idea to get you involved."

Kendra looked taken aback, "You mean to tell me that this is real? My life is really being threatened?"

"It's definitely not to be taken lightly." Casey replied, grabbing her by the hand, "Come on, we have to find Derek."

As the two girls scurried away, a dark gaze watched them.

"Derek!" Casey addressed him as he was standing with Ralph and Sam at his locker.

He turned around to ask her what the hell she was interrupting him for, when he noticed that Kendra was right alongside her, and that they both had very unstable expressions. Casey extended the note towards him and he ripped it from her hands almost hastily. After he scanned over it, he glanced up at her, "You got another note?"

"Actually," Casey motioned towards the girl beside her.

Derek's eyes shifted towards Kendra, and he pointed, "You got this?"

Kendra nodded, "Do I really need to be worried? Because I already kind of am." She explained quickly, "But at the same time I'm like 'yeah right'. You know?"

Derek glanced back at Casey, knowing all too well that this note was very real. And it wasn't fair. He immediately was concerned for Kendra's life. "What are you doing after school today Kendra?"

"Shopping. Why?"

Casey and Derek exchanged a glance, "You might have a few extras tagging along."

Ralph forced himself into the middle of the circle, "Dude. I love the mall." He winked at Kendra, with a big goofy smile on his face.

Derek rolled his eyes, and Sam shook his head slowly.

"D…is Kendra in danger now?" he asked him nervously.

Derek, seeing that it was no use trying to get Ralph to stop blabbing his mouth with the girls right now, turned towards Sam, rubbing his eyes, "I think so."

He handed the note to Sam and waited for him to read over it. Once Sam was finished, he handed it back, "This dude is quite the poet."

"Pfft." Derek replied, "Please."

"…and on Degrassi last night, that guy that looks freakishly like me, kissed the girl who looks freakishly like you."

Derek rolled his eyes again. Leave it up to Ralph to bring up something like this at such an in-opportune time. "Okay. That's nice Ralph." He placed a hand on his shoulder, and caused him to step back slightly.

Ralph however was excited. He loved watching Degrassi. Well, he would never actually fully admit he 'liked' it. But he didn't see any harm in trying to lighten the mood right now. He was tired of everyone being so serious and in such a bad mood. Okay, so the situation was serious. But it wasn't in Ralph's nature to be so serious and moody all the time.

"Well it's a given that this idiot wouldn't do anything while we were at school. At least I don't think so." Derek shrugged, "It's too public. So how about we just stick together once school's out."

He glanced around at everyone nodding. Though, Kendra still wasn't sure she wanted to put up with all this crap. She was independent and social. She didn't need people…well…friends following her around like bodyguards. She wanted to go shopping at the mall after school like she normally did without having to worry about some creep watching her. That's when she mentally decided that she would leave early. No reason for everyone to worry over her. As she waved goodbye to the group, and headed towards the ladies room, she noticed that Noel had been watching them. He didn't look very happy.

When lunch time came, everyone gathered at the same table, all chattering about their classes and such. Casey sighed. She knew she had cancelled her entire week of appointments with Paul, but she really had the urge to go talk to him, and rid the heavy weight on her shoulders at least to him. She could trust him. Derek may not like it, but well…there weren't a lot of things she did that Derek liked. And sure she may have been feeling a lot more loving and different towards Derek than she used to, but that didn't mean she didn't still need a break from him once in a while.

She grabbed her purse and books in her arms, "I'm going to go see Paul."

"Didn't you cancel with him this week?" Derek raised an eyebrow as she stood at the table, earning her a questioning glance from Ralph, Sam, and Kendra as well.

Casey nodded, "I did but…I just really want to go see how he's doing." Derek sighed in annoyance, but complied, "Fine, I'll go with you."

"No no, stay." Casey replied quickly, "I'll be fine."

Derek was once again baffled by her behavior. She had been acting strange since Kendra had gotten a note. Maybe though it could have been the lack of sleep was finally catching up to her. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and looked to Sam and Ralph for a second opinion. Ralph was too distracted by Kendra to really say anything, but Sam gave him a shrug of approval. He glanced at his step-sister again, "Alright."

Casey gave him a smile as she turned and walked away from them and out of the lunchroom. When she made it to Paul's office, she gave a few taps on the door. No response. He usually hollered something at her, but he wasn't saying anything right now. She knocked again. Still nothing. Where could Paul have been? Maybe he'd gone down to the teacher's lounge for lunch, considering she'd cancelled all her appointments, he probably wouldn't have expected anyone coming.

When she got into the office, the secretary greeted her, "What can I do for you?"

"Yeah um." Casey said, sitting her books on the counter, "I'm looking for Paul? I don't think he's in his office, I was wondering if maybe he was in here or the teacher's lounge."

The secretary shook her head in response, "Paul called in today. Said he wasn't feeling well."

Casey felt her nervousness kicking in as she nodded silently to the secretary. She supposed that if he wasn't feeling well he wasn't. But something wasn't feeling right about that excuse. At all. Her concern for him esculated beyond comfort as she fumbled through her purse for her phone. She had managed to store his numbers in her cell before Derek had ripped the paper into a thousand pieces, and it was a good thing, or else she wouldn't even be able to call and check. What was she to say when he answered though? Her head scanned through a million different scenarios as she pressed dial, and held the phone to her ears. It seemed to be ringing forever. Finally the voice mail picked up.

'Hey this is Paul. Leave a message.'

Well he had always been one for getting straight to the point. The sound of a beep alarmed in her ear. She contemplated leaving a message, but decided against it.

Back in the cafeteria, Sam had gone with Kendra to get drinks for them, while Derek and Ralph remained at the table together. Ralph was still in his rambunctious mood, and Derek wore a look of concern and stress on his face.

"Bro you have got to lighten up with all of this." Ralph finally mentioned to Derek, which earned him a questionable glare.

"Lighten up? How do you suppose I can do that?" Derek retorted, shifting in his chair, "Ralph, someone is killing people."

"Well, I know that it's serious and all, but I think that you're just…I feel like…" he paused to correct himself, "Sam and I feel like we're losing the Derek we know and love."

Derek huffed at this. "Yeah. And if I don't keep my guard up you just might really lose the Derek you know and love."

Ralph sighed. It was true, he knew it. But he missed his best friend. He'd changed this past week. A lot.

"And you know you should be careful too, cause this person might eventually come after you." Derek informed him from across the table.

"Well if they do, at least I'll die being myself instead of someone else." Ralph replied, almost with hostility.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Derek was quickly angered.

Ralph glanced over and blinked a few times at his friend, "I already told you that you haven't been yourself lately. And that's what it means! The Derek Venturi I used to know would have never let anything under the sun change his personality."

"Yeah well you know what Ralph?" Derek stood up from his seat, "I already have enough on my mind right now that I don't need anyone whining to me about anything else." He glared daggers at Ralph, "Whenever this is over maybe you and Sam will both have the right to be selfish enough to tell me to change my attitude. But until then? Do me a favor and get off my back about it."

Ralph watched Derek walk away, angry and frustrated to say the least. Ralph never really did get angry or frustrated. Even though Derek had been more than unpleasant towards him. He sighed as he waited for Sam and Kendra to return to the table. That hadn't gone over well at all.

Emily parked Sheldon's car in the student parking lot of the school. She'd been sent there to pick up their homework. In other news, the doctors were actually going to be able to restore Sheldon's vocal capabilities by putting in a prostetic tongue, and while he may never speak the same as he used to, at least he'd speak at all. She was hoping to see Casey there to let her know the good news. She knew it was lunch period, and the halls wouldn't be crowded, which she was thankful for. In fact, the halls were literally bare during lunch. She wanted to hurry as fast as she could so she could get back to her boyfriend.

She scurried to her locker, pulling out a few books, and after visiting the office to collect the makeup work and sort out issues with attendance, she was on her way to the lunchroom.

"Emily?" a voice startled her from behind.

When she turned around to see who it was, Noel was standing there, hands in pockets. "Hey Noel."

She still remembered the previous day's events. The standoff in the hallway between Derek and him. He had worn a look of pure anger and annoyance on his face when he'd been forced to walk away from the situation. To tell you the truth, Emily had never thought that he was capable of such emotions. Anytime she'd ever seen or talked to him he was so mellow and kind.

"Hey I heard about Sheldon, is he doing alright?" Noel questioned.

Emily raised an eyebrow at him. How had he heard about Sheldon? Still, she gave him a nod, seeing as it probably would be rude to not respond to him at all.

"That's good." Noel replied.

"It is." Emily smiled towards him, "But if you'll excuse me, I have to get going."

She turned to walk away, but Noel grabbed her by the arm gently, "Wait, Emily."

She turned around to glance at him again, waiting for him to say whatever it was he felt he needed to have her attention for. "If you see Casey, please tell her I'd appreciate it if she stopped to say hi to me at my locker today. Her ignoring me is really getting on my nerves. "

Emily nodded slowly and gave him a confused look, "Okay. Sure."

"Thank you." Noel replied, releasing her arm before turning around to walk away.

She watched him walking away, and for some reason her eyes stayed glued to him until he had disappeared from her sights. He sure was shady. And the encounter had been strange to say the least. It had shaken her up a little bit.

She was just about to turn and head towards the cafeteria again, when she caught a flash of something at the end of the hallway. Something strange, and startling enough that she waited, and watched to see if it would happen again. A figure emerged from around the corner and collapsed to the floor, coughing and sputtering.

Someone was hurt.

Emily began approaching the person quickly. And the closer she got, the more and more this person looked like Kendra.

"E…Emily…" Kendra breathed out. She couldn't scream anymore. Someone had done a real number on her throat and chest. She was doing her best just to breathe.

She didn't understand it. All she had wanted to do was go to the ladies room, and she'd been attacked by some creature. School was supposed to be safe. Derek had told her she would be safe here. After all, what idiot really would attack someone in such a public place unless they wanted to get caught?

The one who'd attacked her, as far as she had been able to tell, had been wearing a wolf mask, and it had dragged her out of the bathroom into Section 6 of the school. Section 6 was supposed to be evacuated and closed off for renovation. In fact, it still had construction tape blocking off the entire area. Everyone once in a while some of the more trouble making kids would cross the line, and the jocks would make a bet as to how far one or the other would go, but no one ever even thought about going too far that way. It was an accident waiting to happen.

The attacker had managed to try strangling her, and piercing her chest with what had seemed like claws. Kendra though, had dealt with all kinds of cases of boys trying to make moves on her, and while this hadn't exactly been the same, she still knew a bit of self defense. After holding her own against whomever this was and managing to knock them off of her, despite her injuries, she'd attempted running.

Finally, she had gotten to a point where her chest was just hurting all too much and she'd collapsed, right at the corner of the hallway, almost in complete view of the office and lunchroom doors. Thank God Emily was there too.

Emily ran towards Kendra as fast as she could. What was going on? She knelt down beside her, "Kendra? Kendra oh my God, wait here, I've got to go get help!"

"No…" Kendra wheezed out, "Don't leave me here. Please." She squeezed some tears out.

Emily noticed her breathing was very struggled, "Kendra, I have to get help, you're hurt."

Kendra supposed Emily getting help was the only way she was going to make it out of this alive. So she squeezed Emily's hand slightly, hoping that she would hurry, as she shifted uncomfortably onto her back, revealing the bruises around her throat, and her wounded chest. Emily immediately had tears in her eyes in a panic, as she held her hands over her mouth. What kind of monster would do this?

Before Emily could give Kendra reassurance that she'd be right back, she heard growling. And it sounded too close for comfort. She glanced up to see a figure in black, a wolf mask covering the face, and two gloved hands, bearing sharp claws attached to each finger tip. She was panicked. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't just let Kendra lie there and die. But this thing…whoever it was…looked like it was after more blood.

"Look whatever you are just let her go!" Emily screamed towards it.

It seemed to be taken aback slightly by Emily's nerve to address it in such a manner. However, it had no intentions of letting Kendra go, as it lifted its hand and brought it down into her leg.

"No!!" Emily screamed loudly, as she felt Kendra's hand be ripped from her own. She watched in horror as the wolf dragged her friend from her sights. It was almost like it was happening in slow motion. The shock of the situation racked Emily's body with discomfort, and she wasted no time, "SOMEONE HELP!! IT'S GOING TO KILL HER!!"

Her voice rang loudly through the hallways, attracting the attention of several students and teachers. Emily paid no attention to them as she ran directly to the office, and bursted through the door, startling several of the faculty members present. "Help! You've got to help!"

"What's the matter miss Davis?" greeted the principal. "I thought you were going to be absent today?"

Emily collapsed into one of the chairs, gasping for her breath, and looking rather light headed, "Someone's been attacked! You have to call the police!" she panted, "There was blood everywhere…it dragged her away before I could get help."

Teachers exchanged looks of confusion with each other. What the hell was this girl talking about?

"Who got attacked? What is this nonsense Emily?" the secretary asked, as she rounded the front of the desk and stepped towards her.

Emily's eyes burned with tears, "It's not nonsense I swear to you it happened, please you just have to call the police! Before Kendra is killed!"

"Kendra?" the principal said with a slight gasp, as his eyes darted to the secretary's.

"What did you see miss Davis?"

Before Emily could tell them of what she had seen, Derek had run into the office. He had heard Emily's screams while wondering the halls attempting to calm down after he and Ralph had gotten into it. He could immediately tell by the look on her face that she had been shaken up. Bad. And he felt the worse for her because somehow, someway, he knew it had to do with the stalker.

"Mr. Venturi, there is no need for your presence here." The principal intervened.

"No! Please!" Emily grasped Derek's hand firmly in hers, "Let him stay please."

Somehow, Emily felt so much better with Derek there. She knew that if no one else believed her, he would.

The principal sighed and rubbed his temples, "Fine…please…just…what happened?"

"It attacked her." Emily said calmly, and almost in a whisper.

Somehow that one sentence managed to make everyone in the office uncomfortable, as they all shifted around. Derek knelt down and gripped Emily's hand tighter. His heart melted for her. And as much as he feared hearing what she had to say, it could be crucial.

"It attacked her? That's it?" the secretary questioned firmly. She already wasn't buying Emily's story.

"A wolf…a person dressed as a wolf…it attacked her and dragged her off into Section 6." Emily choked out. "Please you have to call the police."

The principal laughed slightly, "Miss Davis, Section 6 is completely closed off. Students know they aren't permitted there unless they want to face being expelled. I'm sure even if they were trying to play some prank like you're describing they wouldn't be-"

"IT WASN'T A PRANK!" Emily jumped to her feet and glared daggers at them, "It was real! I seen it! Kendra was lying there dying! Bleeding! There was blood all over the floor!"

Derek stood to her side and enveloped her into a hug. He absolutely believed her. And he had been wrong again. The idiot was crazy enough to do something at the school. Still, he was determined to save Kendra if he could. After hugging her for a moment, deciding he was tired of hearing the principal and secretary try and make up reasonable excuses for this, he took off out the door, running into Casey, who had at the time, been heading towards the office herself.

"Derek what's wrong?" Casey asked, immediately noting that the look on his face was not a good one.

"Kendra." Derek gave her a rushed reply as he darted down the hallway toward the end. He made his way to the corner, and once he rounded it, he'd be staring down at the very outer edge of Section 6.

"Mr. Venturi!" the principal rushed out the door after him, "Mr. Venturi stop! Section 6 is off limits! You will be expelled if you take one step into it!"

Casey was so scatter brained at all the fast happenings, she didn't know whether to follow or not. She then noticed Emily crying, as she stumbled out of the office door. "Emily! Oh my God, Emily are you alright?"

"Kendra's hurt Casey. And they don't believe me." Emily crumbled into Casey's arms.

"Oh no…" Casey comforted Emily the best she could, but she knew it wasn't going to be satisfactory. "Come on Emily, we have to follow them."

Casey and Emily made their way down to the end of the hallway where Derek and the principal were now standing.

Emily sobbed against Casey still, as they came upon the dreadful place where Kendra had been coughing, sputtering, and wheezing on the floor. Emily's eyes widened in shock as they stood there, something about the scenery had changed. Still, Derek shot her a glance of concern, and Casey met his eyes with hers, giving him a look that noted the situation was very grave, and that Kendra was probably already gone.

The principal huffed and folded his arms, "Well Miss Davis? Where is Kendra? Where is this wolf you spoke of?" he paused, "And more importantly, where is all the blood you claimed was everywhere?"

Emily couldn't believe it. The blood was gone. Not one single trace of it remained on the floor where Kendra had been lying. "It…it was there…it was all right there!" she pointed to the place on the floor, and stared at it long and hard. She knew her mind hadn't been playing that big a trick on her.

By this time the bell ending lunch had rang, and students were piling out of the lunchroom at the other end of the hallway. Emily shot her eyes back up towards the principal, "You have to believe me. I wouldn't lie about something like this!"

The secretary had now joined them at the corner of the hallway and looked on in amusement.

The principal shook his head, "Miss Davis, because you seem so shaken, I highly advise for you to go see the school nurse. There's nothing here. No evidence that anyone has been attacked. And as I said before, no student in their right mind would pass the boundary into Section 6."

Derek had heard enough. He whirled around and glared at the principal, "I think you need to listen to her."

"Mr. Venturi. Your opinion here isn't needed. I know better than to believe a word you say about anything." The principal replied bluntly towards Derek, only angering him more.

"I don't think you're understanding me, sir. It's not just my opinion! I believe her! Someone has been attacked. And if you don't call the police, you're going to have a school full of panicked students, and many phone calls from parents which I assure you won't be pleasant!" Derek snapped at him. "Not to mention when Kendra comes up absent from her next class, and her parents call to find out why she never came home from school!"

Casey would normally be telling Derek to calm down, but this time? This time she was backing him 100. Wasn't it in the job description of the staff of a school to keep the students safe, calm, and okay?

The principal sighed again, "You both are giving me a headache."

"Sir please I promise you I'm not making this up." Emily tried again, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Derek cringed. God, how he hated tears.

The principal turned towards his secretary, "Lillian, call the police please."

The secretary gave him a shocked look, but when he gave her a reassuring glance to just do what he had said, she turned and headed back towards the office to make the call.

Students had began flurrying through the hallways at this point, some just ignoring the entire scene, some watching with looks of confusion.

"Miss Davis, you'll need to stick around so that you can give the police a full explanation." The principal informed, "Miss McDonald, Mr. Venturi, I suggest you two head to class."

Emily nodded, and as the principal turned to walk back towards the office and wait on the police, Emily began sauntering off behind him.

"It'll be okay Emily, don't worry!" Casey called after her, before turning towards Derek.

The look on his face was a mixture of hurt, confusion, and anger.

"Christ this is getting ridiculous. Nobody is safe anywhere! We barely had a warning! She only got the note a few hours ago! And Ralph and Sam were supposed to stay with her during lunch!" Derek snapped angrily, storming off down the hallway.

Casey followed him closely. She felt that Derek agreeing and instructing the principal to call the police was the best decision he had made all week.

"D! Have you seen Kendra? We can't find her anywhere?" Ralph greeted the two of them, Sam right beside him as his eyes frantically searched the crowded hallway.

"I should be asking you the same thing! You were supposed to be watching her!" Derek replied in a frustrated manner. He could not believe this was happening.

"She had to go to the ladies room! I couldn't very well follow her there, although I'd have liked to." Ralph finished the sentence with a smirk on his face.

"Dude, was that Emily that just followed the principal into the office?" Sam questioned, and immediately noticed the look on Derek's face clearly read that something had happened.

"Yeah." Derek replied gruffly, "Kendra was attacked and dragged into Section 6. Emily witnessed it."

"Section 6? No way dude, no one is allowed down there." Ralph replied in all seriousness. "The entire floor would collapse anyway if anyone set foot on it."

"Yeah well Emily seen it happen." Derek responded. "And I believe her. This person is psycho, you think there is any regard to boundaries and restrictions? Whoever it is, is taking lives. A floor with the potential of collapsing is something I doubt they'd give a damn about."

"Damn it man…" Ralph grasped his head stressfully.

"Honestly Derek I'm sorry dude. We didn't think it'd be a big deal that Kendra needed to run to the ladies room. We started worrying though when she just didn't come back…" Sam informed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well the police are coming…maybe they'll find her. Maybe she's really okay." Casey tried finding the positive this time, since even Ralph wasn't pulling that one off.

She rested a reassuring hand on Derek's shoulder, and her other on Ralph's, "I mean, they'll have to find something, right?"

"I sure hope so Case." Derek replied. "I sure hope so."

"Is Emily going to be alright?" Sam asked in concern, remembering that the look on Emily's face as he'd watched her walk into the office was very unstable.

"I don't know. Girl's are all…you know…emotional, so I'm sure it'll take her a while to calm down." Derek responded, earning a glare and a huff from Casey in the process, "Emily's a trooper though. I mean, she's handling Sheldon's trauma like a champ."

"But she didn't have to watch it happen to Sheldon. I'm sure it would have been different had she seen it with her eyes." Casey replied, now feeling even more horrible and heartfelt for her friend.

"Well what can we do? Can't we do something to stop all this? To find Kendra? It'll take the police forever to get here, we could save her maybe, we could-" Ralph had been ranting.

"We can't go into Section 6 ourselves. We'll be expelled. Not that Kendra's life isn't worth it, but what if we do all that and still don't find her? Or worse, what if we do? Then we'll be expelled still and it will have all been for nothing." Sam explained. He'd always been the logical one. "Besides, going into that area also could mean we might get hurt too…and then we'd be injured and easier for this … this… psycho to get to since he seems to be going after everyone around Casey."

Casey immediately felt guilty at what Sam had said. It was true. Because this person had a thing for her, all her friends and all of her step-brothers friends were paying for it. It wasn't fair at all.

"Casey stop feeling guilty. I know that look." Derek demanded almost immediately, before turning his attention back towards Ralph and Sam.

"Wait…how did Emily get away from all of this unharmed? I mean if this person wants to remain so secret, why didn't they kill her too? It would have been like two birds with one stone." Ralph dug deeper into the situation. He had no idea what Derek and Casey had been going through the past few days. Not only was it a physical battle, but a mental one as well. There were so many questions.

"Probably because this person had no idea Emily was going to be there at the same time they were taking out Kendra. Whoever it is seems to plan things…sort of. And I'm not so sure they want to remain completely secret. I mean, attacking a student in school? That's pretty public if you ask me. Even if it was in Section 6." Derek replied. "Even so, it seems they're doing a great job of staying secret anyway, because if the police investigate, and they don't find anything, it's going to look like this was all just a big joke. A prank. No one will believe anything happened, therefore, it's all still a secret."

Casey's eyes widened in realization. Derek was absolutely right about this. Even if they'd called the police days ago, there would be no evidence for them to find. Just like how the blood had disappeared from the hallway. Just like there had been no murder weapon, or finger prints at Sally's house. This person had cleaned it up – as if it had never happened. As if they didn't exist. The only thing that the police would ever have on their hands, were missing people reports. Sure, they could turn in their pictures of Max, turn in all the threat notes they'd received in their lockers, but the police wouldn't be able to pin those things to anyone without more evidence. They would find nothing. And when they found nothing, it'd all be tagged as a prank, a hoax.

Thus, making them all look like liars and like they'd cried 'wolf.' While the real wolf would still be out there. Still playing games. Still taking lives.

"Casey, are you here with us?" Derek waved his hand in front of her face.

"Oh! Sorry." She snapped out of it, and blinked a few times, noting all the attention was on her, "Uh, did I miss something?"

"Yeah we're going to wait on Emily." Derek replied, "There's got to be more to this story. Are you going to wait up with us?"

"Wait as in, you're all going to skip class?? As in…you want me to skip class?? I could neve-" Casey sounded panicked at the thought of such a thing.

Derek rolled his eyes before holding out his hand, interrupting Casey mid rant, "Pay up Sam."

"Dude, I don't even know why I betted against you on that. I should have known nothing could make Casey change her mind about class attendance." Sam replied, slapping a five dollar bill into Derek's hand.

Still, there was no way Casey wanted Emily to walk out of this school alone. Especially when the stalker had reared their ugly head here. She sighed, "Okay fine, count me in."

"That's my girl." Derek gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, before moving his arm down to rub her back in a comforting manner.

Casey was thankful the halls were emptied again. His touch felt so good and she knew she sure as hell wouldn't have gotten it, had everyone already not made their way to their classes. Still she felt very edgy, and no amount of comfort could make that stop at the moment, not until after the police had come and gone, not until after she'd talked to Emily again, not until a verdict on Kendra was announced. Not until this thing was over.

If it ever would be over.

They'd waited. And waited. The police had come and taken Emily's statement, and were now going to investigate Section 6. Of course, they'd scoffed and chuckled at the information Emily had given them. It's like they were completely alone in this. Derek in a way, couldn't wait to prove them wrong. He was going to do his best to do just that. No one knew the hell that the small circle of friends had been going through lately. Casey sighed, feeling half guilty for skipping class, and half guilty that she was completely powerless. She pulled out her cell phone and sighed as she glanced at the time on the clock. 1:48. School would be out in roughly an hour, and then what? She flipped it open boredly, and noticed she had a new voicemail and a text. Glancing at it strangely, she decided to listen to the voicemail first.

She was relieved to hear that it was Edwin. He had called on his lunch period to inform her that he was going to a friend's house after school, and that they were going out to the movies together. 'Where is he getting the money for that?' she wondered to herself as she listened to him informing her of his plans.

"…oh, and if you're wondering where I'm getting the money for the movies today, let's just say I won a bet fair and square over…"

Casey scowled so loudly that she didn't even hear the reasoning. Why oh why had Edwin let Derek rub off on him? When the voicemail was finished, she selected her inbox for the text. When she noticed it was from an unknown number, she knew all too well it was the psycho.

'**NOW WITH THE BLONDE, AND YOUR SHRINK GONE TOO,**

**I'M JUST ONE STEP CLOSER TO GETTING TO YOU.' **

Casey caught her breath in her throat. She didn't gasp. She didn't make a sound. She didn't want to alert Derek, Ralph or Sam at that moment. Something was striking her as horribly wrong about this text.

The person had made it clear that both Kendra, and Paul were no more. But they'd referred to Paul as her shrink.

And there was only one person, who ever called him that.

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**AN : Some of you have shuned the character deaths, just keep in mind that this is a horror story! Or ... at least a sad attempt at one! People are gonna die! And remember to keep in mind that I alsoooooooo lovvvvvve reviews!! : )**


	11. When In Doubt, Look Up

**AN : As said, here's the update. I apologize for the fact it's shorter than usual, and also for the fact that both Derek and Casey seem slightly out of character here. I had about a million other things on my mind while writing this chapter, so focusing was a bit of a challenge. It's not that I was really writer's blocked. I think work is just tiring me out more than usual lately. Warning for another character death here. And some creepiness. I promise the next part will be better, longer, and definately more pleasing than this one.**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part 11 – When In Doubt, Look Up_

* * *

The walk home from school was turning out to be awkward. Casey found herself barely able to say anything to Derek, who, himself, was too busy thinking about the day's events to talk to her either.

The police had taken Emily home after they'd investigated Section 6, only to find nothing. Which plagued not only herself, but Derek, Sam, and Ralph as well. Emily had been labeled as overtired and delusional (as Emily had heard them whispering), and ordered to go home, and stay home for the weekend.

Casey couldn't help but feel remorse for Emily, but at least she'd be out of danger over the weekend, or so she hoped. She knew Emily hadn't made up what she'd seen. So maybe they hadn't found Kendra in Section 6. But they all knew without a doubt, that she was gone.

Now with the police involved, Casey almost wished they hadn't been at all. All the reasons now, of why Derek hadn't wanted them involved in the first place were quickly making sense. If the police couldn't find anything on this psycho, they wouldn't believe what they were saying. Better not knowing anything, than still not knowing with the added bonus of being called mental.

And now it was almost as if this whack job was untouchable. Untraceable. Free and dangerous. Something had to be done. Of course, she'd known that at the start of the week, but things were getting worse day by day. They were losing friends left and right, and it was going to continue to happen.

Casey felt more out of control than ever. She sighed heavily, the sun beating down on them as they crossed the street. Derek was still mumbling under his breath, a stern look on his face as his thoughts plagued him.

He however, had noticed the heaviness in Casey's sigh. He felt completely horrible after such a day. Of course, another piece of his heart was gone. The piece that belonged to Kendra. The piece that had now joined Sally's piece.

It still didn't seem real. And it had never once been right. Why take innocent lives? Why do this to someone? This freak was obsessed with Casey and was obviously clearing out everyone around her so he'd have no problems getting to her. But honestly? Derek would have never guessed a week ago, that someone in the school had such a strong stomach. Someone he went to school with had the guts to take someone's life, and still be able to sleep at night.

He glanced over at Casey, who was walking beside him silently, a look of exhaughstion and petrification on her face. She was still in shock also.

Truth was, yes, Casey was in shock over the same things as Derek, however, there was one more thing she had to be shocked about. The text message she'd received earlier that day. Not only had it confirmed the death of Paul, her guidance counselor, but it had also mentioned him as 'shrink'.

There was only one person who ever called Paul her shrink. Derek.

Even though Derek had told Casey more than once that he wasn't the one behind all of this, and Casey had a hard time of believing that he was, it still bothered her. Paul...poor Paul. Like Kendra, Sally, and Max, he hadn't done anything wrong to cost him his life. People who did a lot of wrong didn't deserve to die. And they had lost 4 people, completely innocent, all because someone was freakishly interested in her. Not to mention what had happened to Sheldon, and now Emily would have to live forever with the visions of seeing Kendra being dragged away by this nut job. She felt her eyes begin to burn. Her eyes became watery.

What about all of their families? Loved ones? They had lost someone by murder. And still didn't even know where they were. The look on Max's mothers face had killed her that evening. Max had been missing for a few days now. And she still didn't even know where he was. Kendra, who'd been dragged off into Section 6 of the school and never seen after that. Paul...who had probably never seen it coming. Sally, who had been injured severely before being launched out of her bedroom window. Sheldon, who may never speak again. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair.

As she did her best to keep her sobs minimal, she felt a hand slip into hers. Glancing over, Derek's gaze met hers.

Derek wanted to hurl. This mushy, mumbo jumbo just wasn't for him. Holding hands with Casey? Ridiculous. Even under the circumstances he found the gesture completely ignorant of himself. However, he knew she needed it, and he knew that while he may not like it, it wouldn't kill him.

She was facing forward again, and he glanced down at their hands, grasped together - hers a little more tightly around his, than his around hers. He almost gagged. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair.

Still, as much as he wanted to wrench his hand out of hers as quickly as he'd put it there, he wouldn't do it.

"Paul's gone too, Derek."

He sighed, "Casey, the guy called in sick, that doesn't mean that he's-"

"I got a text message."

Derek ripped his hand from hers, and glared at her, "When was this?" He was automatically furious with her. She'd been keeping things from him again when she knew damn well that they needed to stick together right now.

Casey knew that tone of voice. She had miffed him again. But it's not like she'd meant to. She just hadn't wanted to discuss it with him. Mainly because she had actually questioned whether or not it was him that had sent it to her. She took her phone from her purse and flipped it open to the text, before reaching over and shoving it into his hand, "When we were in the hall today with Sam and Ralph after...you know."

Derek narrowed his eyes at her again before gazing down at the message. After scanning it over he looked at her again. Her arms were now folded over her chest and he knew why she hadn't told him yet, and why she hadn't been speaking to him much. He knew what she was thinking, and he needed first and foremost to kill those suspicions yet again.

"Casey, you know I didn't send this to you, don't you?"

Casey glanced over at him, "Well I don't know who sent it, it's from a blocked number."

"You know what I meant."

"..."

"Do you think I sent it?"

"Well...I don't think you sent...but..."

"But...?"

"..."

Derek sighed. Great. They were going to be going around this mountain yet again. He didn't feel the need to press her about it this time. For some reason, he knew she didn't blame him for what that message said. He knew she didn't accuse him because of what that message said. The girl was confused. And he sure couldn't blame her for that. The rest of the walk home was spent with heavy sighing, and an occasional sob from Casey. They had finally made it home, and were looking forward to some much needed sleep – and hoping they could both get some.

They went straight upstairs, muttering 'see you in a bit' to each other. Derek had closed the door to his bedroom behind him, he just wanted to shut the entire world out for a few hours, and that included shutting Casey out as well.

Casey sat down at her computer and shut it down completely. She didn't want anything to do right now with the world of messenger. Especially when psycho's had a tendancy of finding you there. She sighed, before lying down on her bed, her mind spinning with thoughts. Still, it didn't take long before she crashed. And she crashed hard.

A few hours later, a thud from the hallway startled her awake. She held her breath and glanced over at her clock. It was after 9. She'd been asleep for nearly 6 hours. Not that she hadn't needed it, but now she couldn't even salvage a fraction of her Friday evening because she'd slept it away. Another thud erupted from the hallway, causing her to jump slightly. The sound of faint footsteps going into the bathroom followed the thud, and it made her stomach sink in nervousness.

She waited a minute, frozen where she was, sitting up in the bed, her comforter grasped in her hands in fear. What should she do? She couldn't very well scream for Derek because, well, she didn't feel as if she could scream at all. She waited a few more minutes, listening to the scuffling going on in the bathroom, before she heard the footsteps again. They got louder, before stopping right outside her door. The hallway light was on, and she could see a shadow through the crack of the bottom of it. She couldn't believe how completely frozen in fear she was.

At least now she knew she would never survive. Even if the stalker was staring her straight in the face she'd just be killed. Because she'd be too scared to even run or scream. 'Pathetic.' She mentally told herself. She waited as she watched the shadow shifting around slightly, before, a soft knocking came to her door.

Heart pounding, she still didn't move. That is, until she heard, "Casey? You awake? It's me, Edwin."

Relief hit her like a ton of bricks as she shuffled from her bed and walked over to open the door.

"Hey." Edwin greeted, "It's so quiet in here, are you and Derek okay? I expected the house would be in shambles with how you two normally are when you're by yourselves here."

Casey glanced towards Derek's door. He was still sleeping. Must have been hard too, to not hear Edwin shuffling through the hall the way he was. Though, Derek was a light sleeper, Casey was a much lighter one than he was.

"Luckily Derek was too tired after school to ruin my evening." Casey finally answered, and Edwin nodded in response.

"Counting your blessings. Good thing." Edwin told, before his gaze moved down to a bag in his left hand.

"Going somewhere?" Casey questioned, as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, to a friend's for the night. I had to come get clothes, and let you guys know where I'd be." Edwin said, before turning to walk off, "Gotta get walking. Hope you guys have a pleasant night."

Casey immediately felt panicked. "You're going to walk there?"

Edwin stopped and glanced back at her, nodding.

"Alone?? In the dark??"

He nodded again, shooting her a strange expression.

Casey glanced at Derek's door again before glancing back at Edwin. There was no way in hell.

5 minutes later, Edwin was waiting downstairs in the living room for Casey, who had decided she was going to accompany him. She had slipped on her shoes, grabbed a jacket, and was heading back down the hallway towards the living room.

She had stopped and paused to glance at Derek's door again. It had been a struggle, to decide on leaving without him, but she wanted to let him sleep. He'd done enough for her lately. Surely she could handle walking home alone. She just hoped Edwin's friend didn't live far.

As she headed down the stairs, she grabbed the house key from the table at the end of them, and they both were off.

The air outside was crisp and cool, and very still. The neighborhood was quiet and peaceful. But to Casey it was freakishly quiet, and growing scarier by the second. Edwin had informed her that his friend was about a 20 minute walk away. Surely nothing would happen. Not now, not tonight. Even stalker's had to sleep sometime, didn't they?

Edwin cleared his throat from beside her, and she glanced over at him.

"Are you alright?" he questioned, "You and Derek have seemed really…strange lately. Well I mean, I expect even Derek to be a little out of it lately, with you know…Sally. And I'm sure you're still upset about your breakup with Max?"

How was Casey to respond to this? She couldn't very well get Edwin involved with what was going on, besides, involving others was only bringing about more trouble for everyone. She managed to muster a smile for him. "It's just been a crazy week for both of us." Ha. Crazy was an understatement.

"I'd say." Edwin replied, glancing ahead again, scuffing the ground as he walked. "Has Derek seemed better today?"

"Well…of course he's not okay." Casey began, "But he's dealing with it the best he can I think."

Edwin nodded. "He's very un accepting when it comes to tragedy. Wouldn't shed a tear for anyone in this world. I don't know, sometimes, I think it's a front. But it's hard to tell because Derek has always been this way."

Casey stopped to think about this for a moment. What Edwin said she had no doubt was the complete truth. Derek really didn't show much emotion towards anyone, or for anything. Lately, she'd seen more emotion from him than anyone else probably ever had. He'd been sensitive at times and almost…sweet, in his own Derek way. Was it really all that normal though for someone to have so much happen, that they really didn't allow themselves to be fazed by it? He had quite the inner strength. And it was surprising for even someone like Derek to have been able to handle this load without having a breakdown by now. She looked over at Edwin, who seemed to be off in his own thoughts by this time.

Casey had to keep the conversation going with him somehow though. She couldn't stand the silence and the stillness of the outside. She didn't know how she would ever manage the walk back home.

"So uh, Edwin?" she decided to bring up something that she was sure they'd stay on the topic of for the remainder of the walk, "About this girl…you mentioned to me the other day. Any luck with that?"

Edwin shook his head, keeping his gaze towards the ground.

"No?" Casey asked again, "Well what's the matter?"

She watched as he threw his free hand into the air, almost stressfully.

"So many things." He answered. "I just don't know how to get her attention."

"Oh, so you have tried though?"

"Well…yes remember I keep trying to compliment her, without it seeming completely obvious. But this girl doesn't take compliments well. It's like she just brushes them off. Or pretends she didn't hear what I said." He paused, "I thought about giving her a flower." He then scrunched his face into a confused expression, "But somehow I don't think she'd really appreciate something like that. She's a bit of a tomboy."

Casey's mind searched for any advice she could give to Edwin that would help with his dilemma. "Does she play any sports?"

"Yeah…" Edwin replied almost reluctantly.

"Well maybe you could go to one of her games sometime." Casey suggested.

"I've been to a couple." Edwin answered, "But I don't think that would be something that would stand out to her."

Well, this sure was a strange case he had on his hands.

"I've got it." Casey finally said, facing him with a smile, "Write her a letter."

Edwin almost coughed, "A letter?" Seriously. Him? Write?

"Well sure I mean, you could tell her your feelings, she can't really ignore them if they're in writing." Casey replied, set on the fact that he should in fact, do this.

Edwin contemplated this for a moment, "Well…yeah true." He paused, before adding, "But I've no idea how to write a letter."

"Oh Edwin. You really do take too much after your brother." Casey sighed, almost in annoyance at the thought. Derek would never write a letter. Not only would he probably claim to not know how, but he'd be way too lazy. "Writing a letter is so easy. You just take the pen, and put your feelings for this girl on paper. Write down how much you admire her, how cute she is, how you'd love to take her to a movie sometime. Pretty much everything you think about her, every thought you have."

Edwin raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. He supposed maybe he could manage a task like that, "What about signing it? Should I put my name at the end of it, or keep it a secret-"

"Never, never, keep it a secret." Casey answered quickly. "All that does is cause trouble. Keeping yourself hidden. Before you know it, you'd be in a huge mess. You could even end up hurting this girl because you'd take it too far. Sneaking around just to watch her every move. Affecting not only her but her friends in the process. Completely unnecessary."

Edwin was glancing at Casey as if she was off her rocker. Seriously what was she even talking about?

She noticed that Edwin was giving her a confused look, before saying, "Just don't do it. Tell her who you are. She deserves to know. Anyone would deserve the right to know. Playing around like that does hurt. You might end up pushing her away."

Edwin nodded, "Okay so, letter, true feelings, definitely sign name." he went down the list, "Got it. Thanks Casey."

"Glad to help." Casey replied, somehow wishing now that her situation seemed as simple as Edwin's. "Say, Edwin?"

"Yo." Edwin replied loudly.

Casey rolled her eyes. Clearly once again, more of Derek's bad habits had rubbed off on him. "Is this why you came home early? Because you wanted to get back in school to see this girl? And ask my advice?"

Edwin looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Um, I got sent home because I kept getting into tro-"

"Edwin come on. I know mom and George wouldn't have sent you home by yourself like that." Casey interrupted, wanting to finally confront him on the matter.

Edwin looked as if he was having a mental war with himself. Opening his mouth to say something, then pulling it shut again as if he felt the explanation he was about to give to Casey wasn't good enough. She'd caught him off guard, with this confrontation, obviously.

"I'm sorry I lied." Edwin then admitted, glancing towards the ground shamefully. "It's been so weird for me lately. I really like this girl. I wanted to come home so I could get your advice on this. Dad and Nora would have never let me if I'd told them the truth."

Casey folded her arms, "Maybe not, but you know Edwin, my mom is excellent about giving advice like this. You could have always asked her. Or even Lizzie."

Edwin stumbled over his own feet, causing Casey to shoot him a confused glance. How did he manage that? He cleared his throat, "Well you know I, I thought of that…you know, talking to Lizzie but, I was…I couldn't."

Casey raised an eyebrow. The two families had been living together a while now, but come to think of it, it was true that Edwin had never seemed too completely comfortable with Nora. Lizzie though? Lizzie was his best friend.

"Well this is my stop. You're sure you can make it back alone alright?" Edwin asked, as they stopped in front of a two story brick home. He was glad they'd made it to their destination. The conversation had been getting uncomfortable and a little dangerous, if you ask him.

Casey wanted to tell him no. That she was scared to her wit's end over the fact that she would be walking for 20 minutes alone back to their house. "Yes Edwin I'll be fine, have fun."

"Good night Casey." Edwin waved her off, as he vacated up the front stairs of the house, where his friend greeted him at the doorway to let him in before he could even knock.

Casey turned to stare at the dimly lit street, before taking a deep breath, and walking back the way she'd come. "I'm so stupid!" she told herself, "I can't believe I did this to myself." Though, the thought of Edwin walking all this way by himself had certainly been more unsettling than this.

She needed to do something. Something to keep her mind off the quiet, night that was blanketing the neighborhood. She was always thinking way too much, and now she couldn't think enough. It was ridiculous, really.

She'd left her cell phone at home, another stupid move on her behalf, so she couldn't call anyone to keep her company. Not that she really had anyone to call.

Think Casey, think! Something good, something that won't freak you out even more than you already are. She wondered what her mom and sister were doing right now. Her mom was most definitely sleeping, she was sure of it. Lizzie? Probably watching reality tv. She smiled. Only two more days and she'd get to see her mom and sister again. She couldn't wait. She wanted to hear all about their trip, and she was sure they'd want to hear all about her week and a half with Derek.

And then she would tell them…what?

She sighed, pulling her hoody tighter around her as she walked at a decently quick pace. Living in this kind of fear was something she still wasn't used to. Something she didn't want to have to experience so long that she would be used to it.

She shivered a bit. Even though the wind wasn't blowing, she could be cold if it was 1 degree below 80. As she kept up the pace, occupying whatever thought she could, her eyes landed on something, that wasn't right. She stopped, frozen in place, and narrowed her eyes to about a block ahead.

Sitting at the four way stop of the dark neighborhood intersection, was a car. But not just any car.

It was Max's car.

She knew she probably shouldn't have done it, but she couldn't stop herself from walking faster towards the car. As she grew closer, she noticed no one was in it. Nervousness welled up in her gut. She immediately regretted now more than ever, that she had ever left the house.

When she reached the car, which was turned on, lights glowing, she stopped for a moment, glancing around. Neighborhood was still dark, still quiet. How could this car be here? It had been on complete fire in the photos. Maybe they hadn't been real. Maybe Max wasn't dead. A small spurt of hope rushed through her, and she dashed around the the driver's side door, which was standing open. Someone had obviously driven it there. Maybe it was Max, maybe he was trying to surprise her.

As much as she wanted to believe that Max had driven the car to that spot, and that he had wanted to surprise her, she knew it couldn't be true. Could it?

She leaned into the car. It was his alright. The picture of her and him together was still sitting in his dash. She glanced around the car, looking for nothing in particular, when the radio blasted static out of its speakers, startling her so bad, she jumped and smacked the back of her head on the roof of the vehicle. She mumbled an ow, rubbing the back of her head, before reaching out to turn the radio off.

Before her hand could reach out for the knob, the static cut off, and a strange, old-sounding song began to play. It was children's voices. Casey's eyes widened in fear.

'_Whose afraid of the big bad wolf? The big bad wolf, the big bad wolf. Whose afraid of the big bad wolf-'_

The song cut out, and then there were gasping sounds, from a male, he screamed in sheer pain. It was Max. Casey's hands flew to her mouth, covering it in terror, as Max's voice cut out, then the screams of a girl radiated out of the speakers.

'_Saaaaallllllllyyyyy.'_

'_Whose there?'_

'_Sally are you scared?'_

The sounds of her screaming and glass breaking followed, before the radio switched back to another male voice.

'_Who are you? What are you?'_

Tears were streaming down Casey's face. It was Paul. She heard what sounded like him panting as he ran, before his screams then filtered through the speakers. There was the sound of objects hitting the floor. He must have been at home. This psycho had gone to his house to kill him.

'_No! Do-' _

A cry from a female had been cut short, and it had been followed by a coughing and sputtering sound.

'_I'm going to get help! I'll be right back I promise!'_

Casey couldn't listen to any more of it. She jerked out of the car, slammed the door shut, and ran as fast as she could, in tears, back towards home. She didn't understand why this person was doing this. Why was this person continuing this game or torture? She had to stop it. It all had to stop. She couldn't stand it anymore.

She crashed through the front door of the house, crying in hysterics, almost screaming in frustration. Derek was at her side a split second later, trying to calm her, but she kept breaking away from him, almost angrily.

Derek had never seen her this wound before. Sure, she could get emotional. But she was literally having a break down. And he had no idea what to do. He was usually always in control of her, but something was telling him not to mess with this. She'd finally broken.

"I can't do this anymore Derek I can't do this!" she screamed, as her eyes landed on him.

Derek flinched as the screeching of her words penetrated him. Then, not 5 seconds later, Casey had sunken down to the floor, beating it with her fist, crying harder than ever.

"Casey." Derek walked over and knelt down beside her, pulling her into his arms as she cried uncontrollably. "Shh, it's alright." He ran a hand through her hair.

What was going on? What had caused her to breakdown like this all of a sudden? Last thing he'd known, they'd been sleeping. Had she had another nightmare? Had she woken up early and had a run in with the freak on messenger? So many questions flooded through his head as he held the shaking, crying girl in his arms.

"People are dying and suffering and I've tried not to believe it's my fault!" she shouted into his shoulder, "I've tried!"

Derek rubbed her back with his hand. He really didn't feel like doing such a thing. He wanted to know what had gotten into her all of a sudden. Roughly 10 minutes later, when her hysterical crying finally minimized to sobs, she pulled her face out of Derek's shoulder.

Derek grimaced slightly. His shirt was soaked in tears. He was going to have to change now.

"Derek, I-"

Casey had began to say something to him, but she was cut short, as Derek's cell phone began to ring from inside his pocket. He rolled his eyes, but wanting to quickly get rid of whatever annoyance it could be, he took it from his pocket. The caller ID read Ralph, and he flipped the phone open and put it to his ear, "Now's not a good time man."

"Dude." Ralph said in an almost panicked tone. "I'm really sorry, but have you heard from Sam?"

"No." Derek answered, in a mono tone, "Should I have?"

"I'm sorry man, I just can't get ahold of him. Won't pick up my calls. His mom said she hasn't seen him since this morning before he left for school." Ralph's voice was shaky, "And with what's been going on lately I'm just freaking out dude I don't know it's probably nothing I just don't know wh-"

"Ralph calm down, why don't you come over and we'll see if we can get a hold of him together." Derek told, immediately noting out of the corner of his eye, that the look on Casey's face had become panicked yet again. "I really have to go for now, but head on over."

Derek folded the phone shut and his attention was immediately turned back towards Casey, who he knew, was about to unleash a barrage of questions at him.

"Derek what's wrong with Ralph? Is he okay?" Casey asked quickly, gripping his arm in her hands, "What's going on? Tell me!"

"Casey!" Derek snapped, causing her to fall silent. Finally, the control was back. "I need you to calm down, Ralph is fine, he can't get a hold of Sam right now, nothing serious, he's coming over."

He watched the look on Casey's face go from panicked, to semi-calm, but he kept his firm tone of voice. "I need you to calm down and tell me what's wrong."

Casey's eyes burned as tears began forming again, "I…I found Max's car."

Derek raised an eyebrow. Say what?

Casey noticed that his look was complete confusion, so she sighed, realizing what kind of panic she must have caused him, "I'm sorry for the way I acted just now Derek. I just…I'm just so upset all the time lately, and I know that bothers you."

"Casey, what happened?" Derek asked again. Really, he wanted to be able to help her through whatever this was before Ralph showed up and took some of that attention he could give to her away.

"I…I walked Edwin to a friend's house, and on the way home I found Max's car. Or…rather it was sitting at a 4 way stop, and-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Derek stopped her for a moment. And she knew exactly why. "You mean to tell me, that you left the house at night? To walk Edwin to a friend's house?"

"I…" she stuttered slightly, "I was just thinking of him. I didn't want him to walk alone. Not with what's been happening lately."

"So you didn't stop to think maybe that, I should have gone along too?" Derek glared at her, hard, and she looked extremely uncomfortable at this. Good. He hoped she did feel like shit. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?!"

"I know it was stupid, and trust me I felt bad for it the entire time!" Casey snapped, "Would you just listen to what I have to say?"

Derek rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine, go on."

"Anyways!" Casey, glaring, shifted, and cleared her throat to continue, "I told you I found Max's car, and…and no one was in it, so I walked over to it to make sure it was his, and that I wasn't just assuming at anything. And when I walked over there, the radio came on, and it…it was horrible Derek. I heard…I heard them. All of them…dying…"

Derek's gaze didn't soften for her, though he did feel bad for what had happened, she should have never left the house without him. Never. All he could do was sigh, and he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Casey that's horrible and all, but I can't feel bad for what happened."

Casey glanced up at him, wondering what he could have meant by that.

"And I'm beyond pissed off at you for just taking off like that and not waking me." He continued, "But I thank God, that nothing happened to you while you were out. Because now, knowing, that you were gone, and with that sicko following you around, you may have never made it back? That's not cool." He paused. "I mean, do you not understand that your safety and well being is all I can think of anymore? You continue to put yourself in danger. You don't listen to me at all. I've really tried to care. But I'm tired. I don't know how else to explain it to you anymore."

He sighed, and picked himself up off of the floor, leaving her there, feeling regretful that she'd ever even woken up from her sleep earlier.

About an hour later, Ralph had called again, announcing that he was finally on his way over. Derek was doing his best to avoid Casey for now. He was tired of dealing with her, and her stubbornness. She never understood, never would get the picture. Maybe it was best he stopped trying so hard. He wasn't mad at her by any means. He just felt like he needed to widthdrawel. Maybe it would help. Maybe not. One thing was for sure, he'd find out.

It was going to be nice to be around Ralph for a change, and they'd decided over the phone that they were going to watch one of Derek's favorites, A Nightmare On Elm Street. Casey of course, refused to watch it, and decided she'd try to turn in early for the night.

The movie was barely watched anyhow, seeing as Ralph was still upset over the fact that Sam wasn't answering his phone, and Derek was still preoccupied with Casey. It didn't last long. Ralph ended up going home, and Derek found himself standing outside of Casey's bedroom door.

He contemplated for a moment whether or not he should go in, but then decided he was going to, whether he felt like talking to her or not. He might not have wanted to see Casey, but he needed to. He opened the door without knocking, and watched as she jumped, slightly startled by him coming in when she hadn't expected to see him for the rest of the night.

"Hi?" she greeted with an annoying tone. Though, she should have been used to him just walking into her room without knocking by now. But those thoughts were quickly pushed away as another question came to mind, "What are you doing? Where's Ralph?"

"He went home." Derek replied, walking over and pulling her computer chair out to sit in, "Thought you were going to sleep?"

"Yeah well." Casey sighed, "It wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be."

Derek nodded, and there was a moment of awkward silence before anyone spoke again. "Casey, about earlier. If I made you feel bad, I really didn't mean to."

Casey was taken aback. Seriously? All this coming from Derek, it was almost as if he wanted to-

"I'm sorry."

And at that moment of 11:19pm on Friday night, hell had officially frozen over.

"You're what?" Casey asked, hoping he'd repeat it. After all, something like Derek apologizing, would only happen once in a lifetime.

"Forget it. I'm not saying it again." Derek huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her. "And this stays between us. Because I have-"

"A rep to uphold?" Casey finished for him, shooting him an all-knowing smile.

He couldn't help it. He felt it tugging at the corner of his mouth. Yeah, he was smirking. "Precisely. And you've done well to remember it."

"Well, as much as I enjoyed hearing that once in a lifetime statement from you, you should really know that you didn't need to apologize. I'm the one that made that stupid choice, and I learned my lesson from it." She sighed, "I'm so used to being independent. So used to doing everything by myself. So used to not having anyone to…to do…what you've been doing for me. And…" she glanced up at him, he was listening intently, "…and I need to just accept the fact that we're in this together."

He gave her a slight nod, before abruptly clearing his throat, "Just don't get used to it. When this is all over, I've got about 100 pranks lined up in a row."

Casey shot him a glare. She didn't doubt it. As horrible as this situation was, she almost didn't want it to be over – simply for the fact that she'd loved seeing this side of Derek. Loved seeing him care. Loved feeling that he cared about her. Guess it was too good to be completely true. She was only kidding herself anyway. Derek was always going to be…Derek.

"But just so you know." He leaned closer to her and whispered into her ear, in that voice that sent chills down her spine. The good kind of chills, "I've rather enjoyed the ride."

Those words echoed in Casey's mind long into the night. She laid in the quiet of her room, in her bed, like her heart had been set on fire. That simple statement, the way he said it. It was all she could think about. Of course it was all too sweet to last, but she had to enjoy these moments while she could. She glanced at her clock. It was after 1 in the morning now. And Derek had talked with her a while, before retreating to his room to try and get some sleep. Things were okay between them, and they had come to an agreement that they didn't exactly know what their feelings for each other were at the time. They just were. No more trying to figure them out. No more trying to fight them. They would work themselves out.

As Casey's heart fluttered full of butterflies for what must have been the thousandth time that night already, she heard her messenger sound off. She would have immediately been terrified, but this time, it was the sound of Emily's messenger (as she had specialized the noise for when Emily IMed her.) She shot up out of her bed, ready to talk to her best friend and tell her how she was feeling, how Derek had made her feel.

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : Casey, you awake?_

_ButterflyDancer : Yeah Em, how are you? I was thinking about you this evening._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : I'm doing better. Mom and Dad took me to eat, we talked about vacation plans. Kept my mind off things. How are you and Derek?_

_ButterflyDancer : We're alright too. Took a long nap after school. He said some sweet things to me tonight._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : Oh yeah? Like what?_

_ButterflyDancer : Hard to explain. I feel like my heart is doing continual cartwheels._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : And you say it's not love. Please._

_ButterflyDancer : How is Sheldon doing?_

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : He's better. My parents also took me by to see him. Did I tell you they're going to be able to fix his tongue? Well…or at least give him another one. And before you say gross, don't worry, it's prostethic._

_ButterflyDancer : Really Em? That's great!_

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Shouldn't you girls be in bed?_

_ButterflyDancer : Where did you come from? _

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : I have the internet too, Case._

_ButterflyDancer : Whatever. Did you hear the good news?_

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Yeah, that's great Em. At least you won't be kissing a tongue less boyfriend. I mean I've been wondering how you were ever going to make that work again._

_ButterflyDancer : De-rek!!_

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Bloody hell. You even know how to type that. Anyway, Emily knows I'm happy for her._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : Yes. Thanks Derek. Sorry to bring it up, but have you heard any details on Sally's funeral?_

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : There won't be one. Her mom is still too upset to do anything of the sort right now._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : Understandable. If she changes her mind, let me know? I know I didn't know her well, but she was nice. I'd like to go._

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Sure thing Em. I'm sure Sally would've wanted you to be there._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : What are you guys going to tell your parents when they get home?_

_ButterflyDancer : Neither of us know yet. We can't very well lie, but…it's just all too much to think of right now._

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Not to mention they'll be raging pissed at us both for not telling them sooner._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : It's unreal still. All of it. I can't even imagine how you guys are handling this like you are._

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : We haven't witnessed anything of the sort like you did today Em. You're the real hero here._

_ButterflyDancer : Yeah. _

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : I'm just glad to have friends that believe me. I mean, really, how can police stand by and not do anything? Sure they investigated but just because they didn't find anything, doesn't mean they should brush it off like that, right? I wouldn't make that up out of nowhere._

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Cops…are stupid. Just wait until Sheldon gets his tongue back and sick him after the psycho. I'm sure he'd surrender real fast._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : What??_

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : I mean…did I really just type that? Oh wow._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : Derek that was completely!..._

A smile came to Casey's face. It was good to see the two of them carrying on. As she sat and continued to watch them arguing over the messenger, laughing to herself, another IM popped up on her screen.

'**It's 1:30 in the morning. Do you know where Sam is?'**

It was him. Casey swallowed hard, before her fingers hit the keys.

'Leave me alone.'

She Xed out of the box before returning to the shared IM with Derek and Emily.

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Now you're crazy talking. Sheldon wouldn't know the difference if it slapped him right square in the face._

_ButterflyDancer : Have any of you heard from Sam?_

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : I haven't, why?_

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : He's probably out at his grandma's for the weekend. They go out there all the time._

_ButterflyDancer : Are you sure?_

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : Well, not completely, but …why? What's wrong?_

_ButterflyDancer : Nothing, I was just wondering if Ralph had maybe gotten a hold of him yet._

_AllTheLadiesLoveMe : As far as I know, he hadn't. But I'm sure it's fine. Sam barely gets reception out there. Ralph's just flipping out._

_Soon2BeMrsSchlepper : Oh yeah, I remember once Sam called me about something on an assignment we were doing together while he was out there. And I could barely understand him the static was so bad._

The IM popped up again.

'**Try checking your local trees.'**

Casey stumbled up from her chair, tipping it over in the process. Nervousness overwhelmed her, and she shot into Derek's room in an instant flash, "Something's happened to Sam!"

Derek glanced at her over his shoulder, noting that something had shaken her pretty badly. He immediately stood up from his chair and walked over to her, grasping her hand in his protectively as he walked into her room. After reading the IM, fear struck him horribly in his gut. No. Not Sam. Not after he'd already lost Sally, and Kendra. Not Sam.

He wasn't a stupid boy, he knew what the IM implied. In an outrage he jerked her chair from the desk and slammed his fingers onto the keyboard.

'Listen here you sick son of a bitch, if you do anything to Sam, I'll kill you!'

'**Oh, hello Derek.'**

'Don't play with me, asshole. Stay away from Sam, and everyone else! Especially Casey! She doesn't belong to you! She never will! Disappear! Or I promise that I will kill you. You haven't seen psycho yet. And you'll wish you'd never been born if I ever get my hands on you.'

There was no reply back. The sound of Emily's IM was alarming like crazy, as she wondered where the two of them had disappeared to.

A cold chill shot down both Derek and Casey's spines as they heard the creaking of the branches on the tree outside. It had never stood out to them before like it was now.

'**Well are you going to just let him hang there all night?'**

"Fuck." Derek swore, as he read the last IM sent. He glanced behind him at Casey, her hands covering her mouth in terror. And they both knew at that moment, the reason why their tree branches were creaking so much. Especially the large one that used to have the tire swing hanging from it. George had removed it a couple months ago because it had become too heavy for the old tree. The creaking had been so annoying that in order to get the kids and even Nora to stop complaining, he'd taken it down. It only creaked now when the wind was blowing hard.

It was a calm, silent night tonight. No wind whatsoever had blown.

Derek took Casey by the shoulders, "Casey…you've got to call the police."

Casey nodded without hesitation, and ran to grab the phone.

Derek couldn't believe he'd instructed Casey to do such a thing. But there was no way in hell he was going to be able to handle walking outside, and seeing Sam hanging there.

* * *

**AN : Only a couple more parts left guys! Remember to review me!**


	12. Drip Drop

**AN : I know I know, I'm so sorry it's been so long! I won't even begin to explain this time. sigh I've hopefully lined up a satisfying chapter to make it up to all of you. It's got some good fluff. Hopefully Derek and Casey aren't too OOC during a certain scene here. (once you all read it you'll know what I'm talking about). I tried to keep them as in character as possible. It's also got some heavy suspense - so brace yourselves. **

**Want to say a quick thanks to all who have read and reviewed!**

**Annnnd dun dun dun! We're on the home stretch everyone. The next chapter WILL be the last one. There's a possiblity that there will be an epilogue as well, but that just depends. Anyways, enjoy. **

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part 12 –Drip Drop_

* * *

"Is this your idea of a sick joke?"

Derek and Casey stood, in the doorway, the entire front of their house flooded with flashing lights for the 2nd time that week, both their jaws dropped open. The police officer that had asked the question was stepping towards them, brows furrowed angrily.

"I mean, first a dead dog and now this?"

Derek was getting angry. His eyes slanted into a glare of their own and he made a motion to step forward off the stairs, but Casey gripped his arm and shook her head, hoping he would listen to her. "Derek, please don't, you're going to upset him further which only makes us look worse than we already do."

Derek sighed, and shook her grip off. He however, did, remain where he was, and scowled, folding his arms across his chest. No one, talked to the Derek Venturi in that manner. He could care less if the police were supposed to have some kind of authority. He would not be made mockery of. Especially in the presence of Casey.

The officer flashed a light in his eyes, "You been drinking, son?"

Derek hadn't even flinched when the officer had performed this action, his eyes were only seeing red. And it'd be getting a lot worse if the officer kept it up. "No."

The officer raised an eyebrow before moving on to Casey, "What about you, miss?"

Casey's eyes were slits as the bright lights shone in them, and she shook her head, "No officer we don't drink."

The officer turned off the light, and stared at them for a brief moment, before nodding his head all knowingly. "Drugs, then, is it?"

Before Casey could stop him, Derek had given the officer a rough shove backwards, and emitted an uncontrolled, "Oh, shut the fuck up." He'd stepped down after the stumbling officer.

She watched in terror of what she knew was probably going to be a verbal showdown between the two of them. This could be bad. This could be very, very bad.

"I'm going to have to ask you to control yourself, son." the officer spat, trying to remain professional about the ordeal, but nearly failing already.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to have to ask you to stick to doing your job, officer." Derek replied, arms folded over his chest again already. "Stop asking us a bunch of stupid, pointless, questions. You should be more worried about who did this."

The cop stiffened, an even colder glare emitting on his features, and he pointed a finger at Derek, "Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?"

"Well…" Derek glanced around for a few seconds, before his eyes landed back on the officer, "Yes."

The officer did not like this at all. This boy was attempting to make a fool of him right before his eyes. Not to mention he had a major attitude problem, "You'd better watch it, or you'll be going down town. For failure to cooperate with the law."

Derek rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat. He didn't want to be arrested. Actually, that was the last thing he needed now. "Look, it's been a long week for her and I." he made a gesture towards Casey, who had still been watching from the doorstep in horror, "And we haven't done anything wrong."

"I'll be the judge of that." The officer scoffed at him, before turning on his heel and stalking off towards some of the other officers standing around their cars, examining what they'd pulled from the tree.

A large, life sized, stuffed dummy, was lying on the ground in the yard, in the middle of a circle of other officers, as they discussed the situation. Derek couldn't quite hear them, but he was pretty sure he might have pulled a 'damn teenagers', and 'don't they understand we have better things to do?' out of their conversation.

Casey had remained frozen on the doorstep ever since the police had arrived and pounded on their door angrily. How were they supposed to know that for once – the psycho's threat had been a fake?

Now Derek was getting into it with the police. Lately, Casey had been learning a valuable lesson. One she would have never used to agree with whatsoever. Simply let Derek be in control. She was still struggling slightly with the entire thing, but had mellowed out about it quite a bit. She knew he had her best interest in mind when he handled things a certain way. And well…he hadn't gotten her killed yet. In fact, she had felt safer.

Still, it wasn't a smart thing to do – getting into a scrap with an officer. Someone who had the authority to arrest him on the spot if he kept it up.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. She dialed Sam's number now, for the 2nd time since they'd found out the body hanging from the tree was a spoof. He wasn't answering, and she knew that at this hour, he'd normally be asleep. But tonight had been far from normal, and she wished he'd just pick up the phone.

She sighed, letting the phone slip away from her ear as the sounds of his voicemail had just picked up. Glancing back out at the officer's standing around the dummy, then at Derek, who still seemed to be heatedly talking with the lone officer, she just hoped and prayed that they'd leave soon. All she wanted to do was sink into Derek's arms and…

She cut her own thoughts off and almost scoffed at herself. Maybe Emily had been right.

Was this real love? She'd contemplated the thought several times since Emily had made her statement. She was normally logical , rational, thought clearly. Lately? Not so much. It was like the trauma that was happening, wasn't really happening. She felt half terrible because she should be feeling remorse and sadness over the friends they'd lost. But when Derek was around? Even thoughts of the psycho were outweighed by thoughts of Derek.

Was this kind of love even right? The kind that admist something so horrible and crucial – she still managed to smile because of his presence?

She sighed again. She didn't exactly know what was right. She couldn't figure it out. That right there had been a mental battle over this week. She didn't know whether it was right or wrong to just let herself fall into the feeling.

It was exhausting, and tiresome, among other things.

Her thoughts were torn away at yet more talking with raised voices.

"So you're friend Miss Davis is the one that made the false alarm at Thompson High today!" the officer had pointed out, "Yeah I heard all about that! Seems the whole lot of you are nothing but trouble! The guys said it took forever to calm that loony down!"

"Excuse me?!" Derek had snapped, "She was telling the truth! And don't ever say that about her again, you son of a-"

"Son, I'd advise you not to finish that sentence." The officer cut him off, almost calmly.

Casey didn't know how much longer she could stand letting Derek be in control of this situation. Though – he did have the right to say something to the officer that time. How shallow could this one get? First accusing them of drinking and drugs, and now accusing Emily of being 'loony'?

She had to smile faintly at the fact that Derek had stood up for Emily. Though – he'd grown very accustomed to that. Derek was very protective and defensive when it came to Emily. Even after she'd started dating Sheldon and had someone to play that role for her, Derek had always shared some responsibility with that. He deeply valued Emily's friendship, and had made damned sure that no one ever did her wrong.

"Mind explaining to me, officer…" Derek leaned over and glared at his nametag, "…Finn," he paused again and folded his arms across his chest, "What kind of significance do you hold for the department here? Because so far, all I can tell is that you're a worthless, dipshit and completely incapable of doing your job right."

That had been the last straw. Before Officer Finn could say anything in reply to Derek, Casey had butted in between them, hoping to nip this argument in the tail. She felt extremely weighed down by the intensity of the glares they both were emitting.

"Excuse me, officer, but, I need to speak with him for a moment." Casey had cut in, gripping Derek around the arm and pulling him away from the police man with a bit of resistance.

"Casey!" Derek was clearly angered by her actions, "How many times have I told you not to interfere with my-"

"I don't care what you say Derek!" she snapped, pulling him back onto the front porch, "And you should know I hardly ever listen to you when you're barking commands."

He glared at her, seemingly very annoyed with her response. And he was.

"Do you have any idea that arguing with that officer is one of the most idiotic, most stupid, most completely irrational things you could ever do!" Casey spat at him, more so than asked.

Derek rolled his eyes, "Now is not the time to get all rational with me. I'm already annoyed enough with him as it is, I don't need you contributing!"

"I could care less what you need and don't need, Derek Venturi!" Casey continued, "Set aside your stupid male pride for a few minutes for the sake of not getting yourself arrested!"

Derek didn't reply to this, only mumbled a few things angrily under his breath as he turned his glare away from her. Honestly, who asked her opinion on the matter anyway? It was times like these especially, that Derek couldn't stand one single inch of Casey McDonald.

"Shouldn't we be trying to figure out why this has happened?" Casey asked a couple minutes later.

Derek scoffed, "I thought you were smart. Obviously you've been fooling me all this time."

Casey rolled her eyes. Great. Now he was going to have an attitude towards her for the remainder of the night.

It was an hour later, before the police left their house. Casey's phone rang as they were walking back inside, and Derek stormed up to his room immediately, still fuming at both her and Officer Finn.

"Casey its Emily."

"Em! Hey! I'm surprised all the sirens didn't wake you up."

"Wake me up? Casey I never had been asleep! You and Derek both left me hanging on messenger! Then when I seen the sirens and police showing up, I was too afraid to come over because I saw them getting something out of your tree."

"Yeah. It's a long story. Come over, please? Derek's mad at me."

"Of course. I'll be right there."

5 minutes later Emily was walking in. Casey loved the convenience of having her best friend live right next door, and since the police had strictly informed the Davis' that Emily was to remain home for the weekend, it finally meant they could in fact, spend that much needed time together.

Casey had explained a large amount of the situation to Emily, when Derek sauntered down the stairs again. He glanced at both girls.

"Oh, hello Emily." He gave her a smile before turning to Casey and glaring. "Hello, thorn in my side."

Casey rolled her eyes. He was still bitter. Sometimes he could be such a grudge holder. Though – so could she, she supposed.

He mingled onward to the kitchen, and Casey shot Emily a look that clearly read 'So, what should I do about him?'

"You look so clueless, yet you've handled him being in this mood so many times." Emily began, "Why is it so different for you now?"

"Well." Casey sighed. Confession time. She lowered her voice to a faint whisper and leaned towards her slightly, "I've been thinking about this…love concept."

Emily immediately brightened her eyes at this. She wanted to shove an 'I so told you it was coming' at her, but Derek's re-arrival back into the room stopped their conversation all together.

He sipped at a soda as his eyes landed on Casey again. Emily observed their exchange for a moment. Oh these two. Couldn't they see it? They were completely, 100 crazy over each other.

"So Emily." Derek had torn his gaze away from Casey to look at her, "I know with 'flappy Mc-flap flap' over here you must have heard about what happened." He had made a gesture towards Casey, who in turn, shot him a narrowed glare and an open jawed expression.

Emily nodded, and shifted her position on the couch as Derek sat down in his recliner. "Why haven't you guys tried to block this person's IM's? Figure out if they've got any online information? I mean, surely the screen name alone should give something away."

"It's a different screen name every time." Casey replied with a sigh. She had been thinking that same thing after a couple times she'd gotten IM's. "And I've checked for information. Nothing."

Emily sunk back into the couch again. Derek watched her, so closely it was almost as if he could see the wheels in her head turning.

"I'm just as clueless as both of you. This person is obviously good at what they do." Emily replied with a disappointed sigh.

"Yet it's some high school punk." Derek muttered in a frustrated manner as he chugged some of the cola he'd gotten from the kitchen. His free hand gripped the arm of his chair angrily, and if looks could kill, the glare in his eyes at that moment would have made a crowd drop dead, had one been watching him.

"Are you sure? I mean, obviously this person could be lying about it." Emily replied, giving Casey a questioning glance.

"Well…whoever it is, was confident enough to say that they see me at school." Casey responded, shuddering at the thoughts of the first day the nightmare began.

"Yeah." Emily nodded, remembering her and Casey's first conversation over the matter. "Still I can't see anyone at that school doing something like this no matter how shady some of the people there can be."

Derek glanced over at her with a look of sheer annoyance on his face, "Oh what is with you women??" he threw his hands into the air and stood from his recliner, turning to give an explanation for his outburst, "You have got to watch more movies!"

"But, Derek-"

"Emily I know you've seen a few, which gives you a few steps up on Casey – but you should know that some people aren't what they seem." Derek interrupted her before she could say anything in reply to him. Casey sighed, and sunk her face onto her hand. After all, she had heard this talk before. She wasn't saying it wasn't entirely true anymore. She just didn't want to have to realize how ridiculously right Derek had been about all of this again.

She decided to dismiss herself for a few moments and go make a snack for them, all the while saying a mental prayer for Sam's safety.

She couldn't think of a reason why the psycho would throw a fake in their faces, after they'd killed with no remorse already so many times. It didn't make sense. Then again, nothing at all made any sense. Why someone would do this. Why they'd actually kill. Why they couldn't have just said who they were to begin with and left it at that. Why Derek was doing this to her.

She opened the cabinets and grabbed out some crackers and chips. Okay, so maybe Derek wasn't actually doing anything. Normally it'd be just like him to play with someone's emotions. Manipulate their feelings. Something was different about the way he was acting towards her this time. Something felt…real about it.

Sure, he was still a slob. An idiot, a huge annoyance to her. Stubborn as can be. Never listened to anything she said. Not to mention he was pompous and had an ego the size of the earth, but…for once she was managing to deal with it. For once, she didn't mind that he was all of those things. Because for once, she had managed to see that he was more.

She dumped the crackers and chips into separate bowls and made her and Emily a drink, seeing as Derek already had one, and returned to the living room. Derek and Emily had scattered papers all over the table and were mumbling amongst each other.

They both looked up when they noticed her arrival.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked, almost hesitantly as she put the bowls on the table and handed Emily her drink.

"Process of elimination." Emily replied, as she took her drink from Casey.

Derek then glanced up at her, as if knowing what she was going to say, and added an, "Again."

Casey took a deep breath, and nodded. She had hated this the first time through. Felt horrible for suspecting her loved ones – and where had that gotten them? Half of them were now dead.

So they talked, discussed, made lists, for another 2 hours into the night. Casey was growing more tired by the minute, not to mention their hope was shriveling away as they went on. Seeing as the list they had made in the beginning, was now narrowed down to only a few people. And they didn't want to believe that any of those people had anything to do with it.

Derek however, was really hoping it was Noel. Why? He fit the description of a stalker perfectly, not to mention Derek would have the added bonus of kicking his ass, seeing as he'd never liked him to begin with.

Emily was making her own notes, trying to come to some kind of miraculous conclusion, but couldn't help fighting off yawns herself.

30 more minutes later, Casey had fallen asleep on Derek's shoulder. Emily had noticed immediately, and had struggled the entire time not to start smiling like an idiot, because when she had slumped onto Derek's shoulder, it's like he hadn't even cared or minded that she had.

He'd done his best to make sure not to talk too loud, or shift too much, so he wouldn't wake her. He was being caring. He was being courteous. He was completely sprung. Head over heels.

Emily didn't even know what to do. With the way they had been acting lately, it seemed as if everything else could fall to the way side, as long as they could be together. She knew they were concerned. But love was a powerful force. And they'd both fallen into it.

She couldn't help but think of herself and the way she acted when she knew she'd fallen in love with Sheldon. Sure, she still loved her friends dearly, knew there were other things to life. But nothing, absolutely nothing meant more, than being with him. She had wanted her every heartbeat to belong to him. Her every breath to belong to him. Her every waking moment to be spent with him. Nothing could ever rob her of the feeling.

"Have you come up with anything else yet, Emily?"

Derek's voice had stirred her out of her own thoughts, and she glanced over at him. He looked to be nearing exaughstion himself. She shook her head gloomily. "No. Your guess is as good as mine. Noel. But Casey wouldn't be too happy if she heard me say that."

He glanced down at her, sleeping softly on his shoulder, and looked back up at Emily again. "Why do you think she cares so much for people?"

"Well, she's always had a soft spot for people's happiness. Whether she knows them or not." Emily replied, watching him shift uncomfortably at the thought.

He glanced at their newly revised version of the list of suspects. The past half hour had been rough especially on Casey. They'd managed to narrow the list down to only one person. Half of Derek thought she was still being annoying and stupid about it all. The other half believed she knew it was true also, and was just struggling to come to terms about it.

It was over. They'd figured out who was doing this once and for all. For some reason, Derek felt stupid he hadn't known all along it was him. He had been the obvious choice from the beginning.

"I don't know what's going to happen now." Derek said, then noticing the puzzled look in Emily's eyes, continued, "After he's caught. After everything's over."

Emily still didn't quite understand, "What do you mean?" she shifted on the couch, finishing off the last of her drink.

"This…entire thing has changed us." Derek continued. "It's been stupid, and infuriating, and downright an idiotic waste of time, for the most part. I'm ready for it to be over. But I'm not…I'm just…"

Emily could tell he was struggling with the confession, and decided to help him out, "You want Noel caught, you want suffering to end. But you don't want what's somehow formed between you and Casey to end."

Derek looked at her like she'd read his mind, and nodded.

"It doesn't have to, you know." Emily continued.

"How can it not though? Emily I am, and have always been one person." Derek explained, "I've always had a reputation, I've always had the same personality, and it's never changed for anyone. Because that's not who I am. If what I want with Casey is going to change me forever, I don't know if it's worth it to me at all."

She raised an eyebrow at him. She'd never heard him more confused. "Derek." She paused, as if she was searching for the proper words to say, "If what you have and want with Casey is real at all, then no change at all should be required. Adjustments? Sure. Sacrifice? Yes. But never change. Because I'm pretty sure, that you and her have felt this way about each other long before this week. This situation has just forced you to deal with it because at any moment, either of you could be taken away from one another."

Those words had echoed through his head for the remainder of the night. Even in his dreams he could hear them. Did he love Casey? Was it real? Could he really still be himself and be worthy of her love at the same time? Be capable of loving her back at the same time?

This is why, Derek Venturi never dealt with feelings. Never got involved deeply with people. Because all it did was create too many questions that would never be answered. He sighed, and stuffed a pillow on the top of his head, hoping to stop the words from echoing through his head some more. He needed to rest.

Tomorrow would be a big day for them all.

A sound jarred his thoughts away, and he sat up in the bed. His computer screen was glowing brightly, having been jolted out of its screensaver. His messenger had gone off. He yawned lazily, and rolled himself out of the bed, a small smirk playing on his lips. So, the miserable son of a bitch wanted to play games with him now too? Well that was alright. Because not only had they figured out who it was, but Derek wasn't one that could get as easily upset or scared by words on a computer screen.

He plopped down into his chair, preparing to have one hell of a time. What he read, destroyed every ounce of confidence he'd had in the situation.

'Stupid cops. Don't you hate them? They always check the wrong tree.'

He felt his stomach sink and he swallowed hard. His eyes narrowed into a glare at the screen.

'I know it's you Noel you son of a fucking bitch.'

There was a pause in between the IM's, and the user abruptly signed out. Derek pounded his fist on his desk angrily. Not 3 seconds later, a different IM popped up, with a picture. No, more like a live camera. He concentrated hard on the scenery in the camera view. It was the alleyway behind the back of their house. Slowly the camera picture began to move around, and it became clear that someone was carrying it. It moved into their backyard, in the quiet and the dark. As the figure moved through the leaves and bushes, Derek heard it happening. This was a live feed.

"Fucking bastard!" Derek yelled, jumping up from the chair so loudly, that his chair slid into his bed and tipped over at the foot of it. He stormed towards his bedroom door and flung it open, not bothering to pick up his chair on the way out. He tore through the hallway, damn near burning a track into the carpet on the way. He tackled the stairs at full speed and pounded out the back door to the house.

Breathing hard, he looked left, then right. He didn't see anything. It was dark, and the silence was ridiculously eerie. He was ready though. "Come out and fight you pussy!" he screamed, piercing the quiet around him.

Seriously, he couldn't wait to beat this guy's poetic, pathetic, sorry ass.

He heard rustling in the bushes again, down by the edge of the yard and the alleyway, and dashed in the direction it was coming from. All the way there, he could just hear the sound of Casey's voice in his head. 'Derek what are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed! You don't have a tough guy rep!'

He tried to shake the thoughts away. He'd be no good distracted. Of course, by the time he actually managed to get a hold of the psychotic jerk, there'd be no stopping the immense pain he'd inflict upon him. As he made it to the bushes, he plunged his hands inside of it, ripping leaves off left and right, hoping he'd get more of a handful of Noel than anything. He was cursing loudly as he searched the bush, knowing it was serving no real purpose than making him feel better about things.

Suddenly, a cat screeched, and Derek jerked his hands from the bush, letting out a semi-quiet 'ouch' in the process. He watched the orange and white striped tabby rush out from underneath it, and scamper down into the alley way, clearly pissed that he'd either blown his cover while in pursuit of a small rodent, or given him a violent awakening.

"Damn." Derek muttered in a frustrated manner, as he shook the stinging sensation from the cat's scratch out of his hand. His eyes jerked around again, looking in all direction, hoping that even in this darkness he would spot something.

He stood there quietly, hoping again to hear rustling or the sound of footsteps so he'd at least have a direction to pursue, he felt a drop on his head. Rain? Now? That's just what everyone needed.

Drip. Drip.

Two more drops fell on his head, Then a third one plopped itself right on his forehead. He scowled in annoyance, and reached up to wipe the water drop off.

Something wasn't right. Something didn't feel right. He didn't know why, but for some reason he had to look. The water was either really warm, or it wasn't water. And as he brought his hand back down in front of him, he got his answer.

His eyes forced themselves up, and found that he couldn't look away. They were frozen solid on the sight. Only when is stomach lurched, and he slapped a hand over his mouth, did he manage to tear himself away. He ran to the bush, and emptied his stomach out into it. Coughing and sputtering, as he heaved every ounce of liquid that had been in his body.

When he was sure he was done he leaned over with his hands on his knees, panting hard, gasping for breath, hoping the stinging sensation in his stomach would go away. He couldn't look again. There was no way he could look again.

The sight, had been awful. The mangled body of his best friend, hanging from the tree above him, and he hadn't even noticed at first. What the hell was wrong with him? He had thought for sure he'd have had the chance to end everything now. And just like that, the psycho had slipped away again.

He was angry. Pissed. Frustrated. He had been so close.

Was this how it was going to be? This person killing off everyone he cared for, and managing to slip through every time?

He felt a surge of anger and frustration go through him again, and the same thoughts that had been screaming at him all week were screaming at him again. It wasn't fair. Something was coming over him. He darted all over the yard, grabbing objects, making noise, throwing and kicking things around. He'd even tripped a couple times, which made him all the more angry.

He stood atop his unsafe stack of cement blocks, and old wood until he could reach Sam, and tore him from the tree. His lifeless body collapsed onto the ground and Derek lunged himself at it, grasping it in his arms, holding it tightly. "Wake up Sam! Stop playing!"

He yelled, and pounded his fist on the ground, and all the while kept the deceased Sam in his arms, hoping, praying that this was all just a nightmare.

It was suddenly hitting him. His tough guy façade was not saving him this time, and even that made him angry, and he yelled again for Sam to 'wake up.'

He thought of Sally, and Kendra, who'd already gone, with the blink of an eye their lives had been taken. He thought of Paul, Casey's shrink, who'd met a surprised, unfortunate end. He thought of Sheldon, who'd been robbed of something so vital. He even thought of Max, who, while he'd never liked him, maybe after all hadn't deserved to really die. He thought of Ralph, who, when he also found out about Sam, might never laugh or make another joke again.

He thought of Emily, and how she was suffering over her boyfriend's injury, and the trauma of seeing Kendra being nearly murdered in front of her. He thought of Edwin, his brother, who thank God, had stayed safe through the entire thing. He thought about George, Nora, Lizzie, and precious Marti, who hadn't witnessed a thing.

Now his best friend, who'd never play another hockey game with him. Never come over to play 'Babe Raider' and just hang out. Never be partnered with him as 'Sneaky' anymore. Never breathe another breath.

He thought of Casey. The one who from the beginning, had never deserved such trauma. Who had also lost loved ones. Who was fighting and trying so hard to handle it. Who had never wavered from his side in the midst of it.

His light.

The girl he was completely in love with.

And at that moment, as all these thoughts had been hitting him, as he felt the grief coursing through his veins, Derek Venturi began to do something he had never once done in his life.

He began to cry.

He shook with anger and emotional pain as tears rolled down his face. He clutched Sam's body even tighter as he buried his head onto his chest, and let all the weight that had been on his shoulder's spill out of his eyes.

He needed to get a grip. "Stop fucking crying!" he sobbed angrily, "Derek you damned pansy!" He didn't understand why he couldn't stop himself from turning into an emotional puddle. Everything he stood for. Everything he had always fought for, was now going down the drain.

Derek Venturi did not cry. He was not meant or made to produce tears.

He couldn't stop.

He needed her.

He ran. Ran as fast as he could back into the house. Away from his best friend, away from the moment that had destroyed his entire identity.

She was up already. Just making her way down the stairs, obviously having been woken up by his screams. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, a yawn escaping her, but when she noticed that something was gravely wrong, and he looked extremely deeply upset, her eyes shot open with worry and concern, now completely wide awake.

"Derek, are you okay, what hap-"

That's all Casey had managed, before Derek had sped towards her and thrown his arms around her.

Casey was in shock, to say the least. Was Derek…crying?

A heavy sob dispersed onto her shoulder.

He was. She didn't know what she was supposed to do, but he gave her the answer, in an edgy sounding voice, "Just stay like this with me."

"Okay." She responded softly.

She stood there holding him, and they remained that way for a good 10 minutes before he'd stopped.

He was so completely repulsed by his own actions. He was supposed to be a man. Yet he'd just cried all over the shoulder of a girl he'd worked so hard to convince that he was made of steel. Would be her strength, her protection, her rock.

All of that was fallen to shambles now. Crashed, burned, up in flames, gone in a puff of smoke. And he hated himself for it.

"Derek…" Casey said softly, as he lifted his head off of her shoulder finally. Her hands rested on his arms, as he wiped the last remaining tears off of his eyes. "Derek, what happened?"

She couldn't believe a moment like this had ever entered her life. Derek was an emotional, vulnerable, tearful mess. That was something that for the rest of her days alive, she thought she'd never get the chance to see. She could see that there was anger in his eyes. But more so than that, she could see hurt, pain, confusion, and exaughstion. Something had shaken him. Something had shaken him really hard.

"I just…" Derek had began, but there was a knock at the door.

Casey shot him a weary glance, but remained there. She was not going to leave his side. She let her arm rest on his arm again as she gave it a slight squeeze, "You just…what Derek? Tell me."

Derek shook his head, "You should get the door."

She sighed, and let her hands fall away, as she stowed towards the door. Seriously? It was at least 4 in the morning. Who could be here now? "Who is it?!" she called out, hoping that whoever was standing on the other side, would give a safe answer.

"Emily!" came the muffled voice.

She sighed in relief and opened the door up for her friend.

"Are you guys okay? I heard yelling outside and it scared me." Emily was absolutely livid with concern as Casey shut the door behind her and locked it.

Casey motioned her head in the direction of the stairs, and Emily let her eyes fall upon the tired looking Derek with puffy eyes. She put a hand to her chest as she exchanged a concerned look with her. "What's wrong with Derek? Does he have a temperature? He looks like he's been crying. Maybe I'm so tired my eyes are playing tricks, I don't think-"

"Em." Casey said, stopping her babbling friend from going any further, "I'm not sure what happened, but I'm scared for him."

Casey wasn't going to say any more than that. Derek crying on her shoulder was not something he'd probably want her blabbing to anyone in this lifetime. So unless he felt like telling Emily himself, she wasn't going to.

Emily walked towards Derek, almost reluctantly, wishing that if her eyes were playing tricks on her that they would stop. There was no way in reality Derek could have actually been crying. He did look rather under the weather though.

Casey went into the kitchen to get Derek a glass of water, while Emily did her best to converse with him. Though, he wasn't in the mood to talk. When she arrived back with the glass, he only sat it down beside him on the bottom step of the staircase, where he'd finally decided to sit down. Casey and Emily exchanged a glance, not knowing what to think, do, or how to help.

"Uh, I think I'll just…go upstairs to use your restroom Casey." Emily said, shooting her a look that said 'help him', as she made her way up.

Casey stood for a good moment, just watching him. He looked completely unhinged and unstable, and she wasn't quite sure how she should approach this at all. While she wasn't willing to just let him sit there and be miserable, she was quite sure that if anyone had encountered the crying Derek, they'd be reacting the same way, if they hadn't died in shock already at the sight of his tears.

She sat down beside him, moving the glass of water over. Still though, she hadn't thought of something to say to him yet. Another few moments passed by and they remained side by side, sitting in the silence. Finally, Derek cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that." He mumbled, as he folded his arms to rest on his knees.

Casey struggled with herself on how to respond, finally settling on a, "Why would you be sorry for that?"

"Because I don't c…cr…." He was stumbling and struggling to admit it to himself. To even say the word.

"Cry." Casey admitted for him.

"Yeah that one." He responded, mentally thankful he didn't have to say it himself. He paused again and there was a brief moment of silence between them before he sighed. "I've pushed you so hard to be strong. To not cry. To keep yourself together. Then I go and do the one thing I hate more than anything else. Something I put other people down for doing." He paused again as his voice dropped a bit lower into almost a quiet whisper, "And I'll never forgive myself for it."

Casey sighed. Oh boy. This was going to be one long talk. "It's okay, you know. To cry."

Derek glanced at her like she'd gone mental. "Maybe for you it is. But I-"

"Am human." Casey interrupted him. "What rule book did you read from that said 'Derek Venturi is not allowed to cry'?"

"Mine." Derek almost snapped back. Didn't she understand? It was absolutely not by any means acceptable for him to cry.

She scoffed in response, "No such thing exists."

'The hell if it doesn't!' he thought for a brief minute, but he didn't feel like arguing with her. Believe it or not, for once the mental strength just wasn't there. There was another moment of passing silence, and he turned to her again. "Casey?"

"Hm?" she turned to him with her full attention, ready to help him with whatever was still bothering him, and feeling priveledged that he would talk to her in the first place about it.

"It's…Sam." Derek began, already immediately wanting to slow down because the look in her eyes was quickly turning into sadness.

He didn't have to say anymore, as he watched her already struggling to fight the tears. She looked at him with a serious glint in her eyes, "Is…he…" her voice was almost shaky, "…he is, isn't he? It's…not a joke this time…is it?"

"What have I missed?" came Emily's hesitant voice, clearly streaked with fear, as the two turned around to glance at her returning from the top of the stairs. She could tell that whatever had been talked about, had been a very grim topic.

Derek tried to keep his voice steady as he shot Emily a knowing glance, added with a simple, "Sam."

"Oh no…" Emily let out a strained whisper, before collapsing on the stair she'd been standing on. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed hard into them.

'Crap.' Derek thought. 'How the hell do I handle them both at the same time?'

He noticed that Casey was still struggling to force her tears back, and urged her to go sit with Emily. Better they cry on each other's shoulders than cry on his. However, he was still quite miffed at himself for becoming so vulnerable at such a crucial time. He was now no better than anyone else who cried.

And even though Casey had told him crying was a human thing to do, he was pretty sure that if there'd been anything left in his stomach to hurl, he would have by now.

He stayed where he was. Not bothering to glance back. He could hear them crying to each other. Asking each other 'why', 'when's it going to end', and muttering Sam's name.

He felt an absolute miserable mess right now. He couldn't seem to get himself back to normal. No matter how hard he was trying to turn this strange mood he'd seemed to fall into, into anger instead, he couldn't shake it. He didn't understand how some people could do it. Be depressed. Be that emotional. It just wasn't for him.

He continued trying to lighten himself up, and ignore the girl's soft cries from further up on the stairs. It was more difficult than he'd ever imagined.

All the thoughts in his head, all the sobs from the girls stopped suddenly, when they heard the front doorknob turn. Casey was at Derek's side in a split second, grasping his arm, while Emily remained glued to the spot she had always been in. She stood to her feet, but that was all she could do before fear had completely petrified her.

They doorknob shook, and turned again, then stopped for a moment, and the three of them held their breath. They heard the jingling of keys, followed by the clicking sound as the door was being unlocked.  
It swung open.

"Where's the fire??"

"Edwin?!" Derek narrowed his eyes towards his younger brother standing in the doorway.

"What happened? What's the emergency?" Edwin asked in a panic, as he took a few steps forward towards them. He glanced up at Emily, who had a confused look on her face, before looking at Derek and Casey, noticing that they had one on their faces as well.

"Edwin, what are you talking about?" Casey asked, puzzled. Sure there had been plenty of emergency going on tonight. But how did Edwin know? He had been at a friend's house.

Edwin rolled his eyes, and threw his hands into the air, "My friend got a text from Derek saying there was an emergency at home and I needed to get here now." He then narrowed his eyes at Derek, "Just how did you get Johnny's number anyway?"

Derek stepped down towards Edwin, clearly thinking his brother had lost his ever loving mind. "Edwin what are you talking about? I didn't send…" his voice trailed off as Edwin's eyes detoured beyond him towards the top of the stairs again.

He grunted and folded his arms over his chest, "You guys are having a costume party?" he then turned his eyes back towards Derek. "You guys have been drinking too, haven't you? You drunk texted my friend?"

Derek grabbed Edwin by the shirt collar, "What the hell are you going on about Edwin? I didn't send any texts, and what's this about a costume party?!"

Casey and Emily both had been puzzled about that statement as well. Did they look that out of sorts to him?

"That guy! Standing up there behind Emily with the wolf mask!" Edwin snapped back, "God, what have you guys had to drink?? Or maybe I should be asking what you've had to smoke!"

Derek dropped Edwin and spun around on his heel, along with Casey. Emily, was now shaking uncontrollably. Edwin had been joking right? There was no one standing behind her, right? Couldn't be!

"EMILY WATCHOUT!" Casey shrieked, but it was too late.

The wolf was there, and as soon as Casey had opened her mouth to make a sound, it'd sunk its claws into both of Emily's sides.

Emily's legs went out from underneath her almost immediately as the most painful, excruciating pain entered her body. Her vision went black quickly. It hadn't taken long.

The wolf held her up for a few moments with its claws. Edwin's jaw was dropped open and his eyes were so wide he thought for sure they might fall out of their sockets. Was this really happening? Had they called him home to play some kind of crazy prank on him? It wasn't like his brother wasn't known for such things. And he never assumed anything until he knew the facts. After all, assuming made an ass out of you.

Derek had snatched Casey back from the stairs quickly, knowing full well that someone in a wolf costume with claws wouldn't stop her from rushing to Emily's side.

"Okay Derek, who have you pissed off now?" Edwin snapped, as his eyes stayed glued to the obviously very angry wolf at the top of their stairs.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Ed." Derek replied in annoyance. Honestly, this was no time for Edwin to question anything that was going on.

Casey was in so much shock she couldn't cry this time. The moment had finally come.

After a week of suffering, losing loved ones, mysteries, and trauma, the time was here. And it was rushing towards them fast, as they watched the wolf toss Emily aside, and start descending the stairs.

* * *

**AN : Remember to review! It brightens my day! Literally!**


	13. That's So Punk Rock

**AN : Well guys...this is it! Ready?**

Disclaimer : I do not own Life With Derek or any of the characters associated.

_Stalking Casey_

_part 13 – That's So Punk Rock_

* * *

"Edwin!" Derek snapped as he jerked Casey behind him, "Get Casey out of here! You guys need to call the cops!"

"I"m not leaving you!" Casey screamed, grasping his arm more hard than she ever had before.

The wolf was coming. Like they really had time for a quarrel now.

"Casey." Derek tried to sound calm. This incredible rush was coursing through his veins. "You need to go. Go with Edwin, you guys need to get help! We could still save Emily!"

He whipped his head around. Why had the wolf stopped descending? It was tilting its head back and forth at them, as if listening to what they were saying. Derek couldn't believe that the time had finally come.

"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!" Edwin snapped in a frustrated manner. He was beyond annoyed. How long had they kept him in the dark? What was really going on? Had that wolf really just killed Emily? This would definately explain their wierd behavior as of lately.

"Later Ed, GO!" Derek shoved both him and Casey towards the opened front door, and watched them stumble at the door frame before turning his glare on the wolf. This fight was his.

But the wolf was gone. What the hell? Where could he have possibly gone to for the split second he hadn't been looking? "Where did it go?" Derek glared back at Casey and Edwin, who were frozen on the spot. Gone? It couldn't be. They hadn't even heard it.

Derek stormed up the stairs hoping it'd retreated, and at the same time, hoping he'd catch it. "NOEL YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" he screamed as he tore upwards and disappeared into the upper hallway, leaping over Emily's crumpled body that laid in a heap at the top. His heart cringed as the flash of Emily's motionless body entered his mind. He couldn't let it stop him though. Not now. Not when he was so close.

Casey took a few steps back inside the house. What the hell did Derek think he was doing? He was going to get himself killed! She spun around to Edwin, and took him by the shoulders. She looked like she wanted to say something to him, but she was struggling immensely with saying anything at all.

Edwin raised an eyebrow, all the while his eyes darting in every direction. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it wasn't good. For some reason, his stomach was twisting and turning in ways it'd never had before. Well, maybe the sight of his current crush had some kind of similar effect. But that was more of a blissful heart pounding. It was a good feeling. This, was not. Should he be afraid for his life?

Casey felt tears coming to her eyes, as she struggled to think of a safe place to send Edwin. The wolf had disappeared. If she sent him running to a friend's or even next door to the Davis', he could be intercepted. At the same time, if he stood where he was, he could be attacked at any given time. Obviously, she was an unsafe person to hang around with. It was even dangerous to associate with her. And if he came with Casey to find Derek…well…

Nowhere was safe. She couldn't keep him safe, and it was more than upsetting. Still, she couldn't just stand there. She had to get to Derek. She needed to be by his side. This whole situation had started with her – and yet, Derek was the one looking for the wolf. He was putting his life in danger, and it really wasn't even his place to do so. "Edwin?"

Her voice was shaking. Edwin wasn't used to hearing this terrified Casey. He was used to the annoyed-by-Derek, super confident Casey. "Yeah." He said, more so than asked, his eyes still darting around the scenery.

They could still hear Derek yelling obscenities every few seconds. They heard the sounds of slamming doors as he was opening closets and rooms up to find the wolf.

"I need you to be brave, and…" Casey paused, and almost choked out her next words, "Please keep yourself alive. I have to help Derek." She stopped again, as a horrible thought raced through her mind. If she left Edwin here alone, would it be the last time she seen him? "We need help. You have to call the police, and-"

Her sentence was cut short as the entire house went black. She felt her stomach completely drop. It was pitch black. As if on instinct her hand shot out and gripped Edwin's shirt sleeve. He jumped upon impact – but it wasn't like his heart hadn't already started standing still as soon as the lights had went out. Both of them darted their glances towards the front door, which was still standing open. They'd managed to walk a few feet inside from it, and quite frankly, they didn't know whether to shut it and lock it – or keep it open as it was providing their only bit of light by the moon.

Casey was panicked, "DEREK!!" she shouted. "Derek please come back down here!"

No response.

"DEREK!"

"Ow! My ears!"

"Sorry Edwin." Casey apologized in a strained breath. She was too concerned about the fact that she didn't know where Derek was, she couldn't see a thing, and the wolf could be anywhere at this point. She glanced wearily towards the front door again.

"Casey." Edwin began, "As scared as I am to go anywhere, I think we should go get the flashlight. I'd rather see something than nothing at all."

Casey didn't answer him, and he knew why. He could feel her eyes were still glued towards the upstairs. He tugged on her sleeve briefly, hoping he'd gotten her attention because he couldn't see her face, "Trust me, I'm worried about my brother too, but lets-"

He was cut short as he felt a sharp searing pain go through his ribs. He coughed and sputtered, and wheezed.

Casey had heard it. She just didn't want to look. She was too terrified to look. She felt Edwin's warm presence beside her slowly fade, and heard his body slide to the floor. The wolf had managed to sneak up on them again. Forget walking anywhere and it not being safe. They hadn't even been safe standing where they were.

She heard the sound of heavy breathing behind her, and a body come against her backside. It was hoarsely breathing on her neck. Chills shot up and down her spine, and 5 sharp claws touched her shoulder, "Casey…I've waited so long for you…"

The next thing she knew she'd darted faster than she ever had before up the dark stairs. As knowingly clumsy as she'd always been, for once, she didn't miss a single step.

She heard it laughing as she screamed for Derek. It hadn't made any attempt to chase her. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't think straight. She needed to breathe. She needed to find her cell phone. She needed Derek. She needed him now.

It was in her house. It had come to her house for Christ's sakes. Now she understood. Now she knew why those scary movies, were in fact very real. That the bimbo girl and the jock boyfriend always did die. Fear was the most paralyzing feeling in the world. You couldn't think straight. You couldn't breathe. The only thing you wanted to do was curl into a ball and die, let alone use a phone to call the cops. Let alone try to run away.

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when she ran into something rock hard, and almost fell backwards. Luckily whatever it was, had a strong enough arm that caught her, and a strong enough hand that covered her mouth, or else, she'd have busted someone's eardrums. Thankfully, her eyes were now adjusted to the darkness to where she could see tints of colors around her.

"Are you insane Casey? You're screaming will only tell him exactly where you are!" came the sound of Derek's lecturing voice, "Why do you think I stopped cursing loudly? I think it jumped out your bedroom window. It was open."

He released her, though not completely, he kept a slight grip on her arm. Which served no purpose when she plunged herself in the depths of his arms. "I told you to leave the house!" he paused for a moment, noting that someone was missing, "Where's Edwin?"

Not a second later, she was a crying mess.

And that was enough of an answer for Derek. He took her by the shoulders suddenly, ripping her out of the hug, "Casey look at me!"

She sobbed uncontrollably for a few more seconds, but complied to Derek's request as fast as she could. She could see hurt, and confusion in his eyes. He looked like he could cry again at any given moment.

"I want you to go into my room. Lock the door. I've just been in there and checked it out, it's safe. I have to go find this fucker. This has to be over." Derek was trying to talk her into it, but about halfway through his sentence she'd started shaking her head. She still was.

"No Derek. No I'm staying by your side. I'm never going to leave it!" Casey snapped, not caring who or what heard her. The wolf could bring itself and its entire pack up there and she could not have cared less at this point.

Derek sighed, and formed a firm glint in his eyes, "Casey-"

"No! Nothing you can say will change my mind right now!" Casey cried, "Stop acting like you can take on the world by yourself!"

Derek was taken aback by her reaction. For once, he didn't have a witty comeback. His gaze immediately softened, and she looked like she needed to say more, so he remained quiet, so she could do just that.

"I realize that this is dangerous, and that one of us…" she paused and looked deeply into his eyes, "…or both of us…could…" she paused again, and decided to dismiss the horrid thoughts that were running through her head and get back to the point, "Don't you understand that I'd do anything for you?"

Her heart began to pound. What was she saying? She was sputtering some kind of foreign language out of her mouth yet, she couldn't stop herself either.

"I'd do this 1,000 more times Derek." She had begun lowering her voice slightly, "I'd face 1,000 more secret admirers, and stalkers, and wolves, and dogs in mailboxes."

She noticed that Derek was now wearing the expression that clearly read 'You're more insane than I thought Space Case.' Still, she continued on.

"I'd do it all over again if it meant that I could stay by your side like this."

And it was the truth. At that moment she could have cared less if she was told tomorrow it was going to start over again. And 1,000 death notes later she was 1,000 times more fearful than she was now. As long as he was with her, she was willing. Willing to take on the world.

The look he was wearing on his face was indescribable. The Derek Venturi had been stunned into silence. Casey had been seeing a lot of reactions out of him lately she had a feeling she'd never get the chance to see again.

"You once told me that I was your light." Casey said softly, catching his eye contact again. "But I can't shine for you if you don't let me."

Derek stood silent still, for a few moments. What the hell was this mushy gushy attitude about? There was a crazed freak in the house, and all Derek wanted to do was end whom ever's life it was for causing so much crap for them the past week. Yet here's Casey. Being all adorable.

But he wasn't going to lie. Although it was mushy, and gushy, and he could barely stand it, it was also taking great amounts of strength not to let himself flash her a big goofy smile. There was just no time for him to get mushy in return. He had to keep his focus on what was going on. And…he supposed maybe having her by his side wouldn't be so bad.

"Fine." He mumbled, "But when I tell you to leave, do it. When I tell you to run, do it. You should never question what I say." He urged her back towards the stairs with his arm as he walked.

"I told you I don't give a damn what you have to say." Casey snapped back.

She was quite upset over how easily Derek had destroyed that moment. She'd become vulnerable and expressed strong feelings. What did he do? Tell her not to question him. Typical.

"Did you just curse at me?" Derek asked attentively, almost not believing that it had come from Casey, but loving the fact that it had all at once.

"Like that's really what you should be getting excited over right now." Casey scoffed, "Did you even hear what I said back there?"

"Of course." Derek couldn't help it, he was smirking now. "But you just cursed at me."

"You know what I don't even know why I bother with you. I should just hook up with the wolf." Casey huffed at him.

So she wanted to play this game, did she?

"You know what? You want to hook up with the wolf, go for it." Derek said with a bitter tone, "Just don't come complaining to me when he's ripped you to shreds."

Derek Venturi would be damned if he was sucked into some kind of scheme in which Casey was trying to make him feel guilty for anything. He heard her huff beside him, and a split second later, the power flickered back on. They stood, silent for a moment, listening intently at any noise they might have been lucky to hear in the house. But…nothing. Just silence. Until…

"DEREK! CASEY! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

The scream pierced the air, and they heard someone barreling into their living room downstairs. "OH MY GOD! EDWIN!"

"Ralph." Derek whispered, as his eyes stayed glued to her.

She didn't say anything back, and Derek's hand shot out and instinctively grasped hers tightly, as he took off down the stairs. "Ralph we're coming buddy!"

Derek was prepared for the worst. Had Ralph been injured? The way he'd come barreling in seemed that way. Seemed like something had scared the living hell out of him too.

As the two of them flew down the stairs, hand in hand, they seen Ralph crouched down over Edwin.

"Are you okay?" Casey bounded over towards him, breaking the grasp with Derek's hand as he slid to Edwin's side.

Derek took his brother in his arms, and hugged him tightly, burying his face in his chest, "Edwin buddy, I'm so sorry." He whispered mournfully, "You're a Venturi damn it, and you'd better survive." He heard Ralph and Casey muttering frantic things to each other, but he wasn't concerned with that right now.

Now more than ever, with what Casey had said to him upstairs, and now his younger brother, injured and lying in his arms, killing this psycho had never been such a strong longing for him.

Ralph glanced up at Casey, leaning over onto his knees, gasping for breath. He'd been running awfully fast, and hard. His face was beat red, and he felt overheated. "Casey…you…you're not going to believe this, but it's Noel. He tried to kill me. The dude had claws!"

Of course, Derek had already known it was Noel, but Casey…this was just confirming everything she hadn't wanted to believe. She wore a concerned look on her face, in hopes that Ralph would find a way to get the airflow going or he'd pass out. At the same time, she felt hurt, angry, confused. Why had Noel done this? To her friends? Derek's friends? To her?

He'd always been quiet and soft spoken. A loner in a sense. A poet. But he had been her friend. And now he had turned into a cold hearted stranger. He'd taken away their friends, and hopefully not taken away Edwin. Wait. No. She wouldn't believe it. Even if all the evidence pointed towards him.

A thought struck her, "Did you see his face, Ralph? Are you sure it was Noel?"

Ralph gazed at her for a moment, his breathing finally coming into alignment, and he glanced over at Derek, who was still crouching over Edwin, a look of sheer sadness on his face, before looking at Casey again. "Yeah dude…of course I'm sure…why wouldn't I be?"

"Because she's in denial." Derek was finally standing up to his feet, an angry look in his eyes, "She still doesn't want to believe her precious Noel would do such a thing. Right Casey?"

"Are you in love with him or something?" Ralph asked, sounding more like himself for the first time since he'd come in.

"Yeah Casey." Derek folded his arms over his chest and gave her a pointed stare, "Are you?"

Casey felt the intensity underneath both of their gazes, and immediately snapped, "Have you guys gone crazy?! Who I love is not important right now!" She held her hand over to Derek, "Edwin needs help!" She directed her hand up towards the stairs, "Emily needs help!" She directed her hand then towards the open door, "Not to mention we could have just lost Ralph! And all you can think about is if I'm in love with Noel? All I wanted to know was if Ralph was really sure it was him or not!"

Their conversation was brought to a screeching halt by another figure stumbling through their open doorway. He was sputtering and mumbling things, and Derek was growing rather tired of just anyone walking through their front door. His eyes never did detour to the person that'd come through the doorway. He still had them transfixed on Casey. She'd set his heart on fire. And he was loving the way it felt. He felt he could take on the entire world's worst serial killer list on his own, and not fall victim to anyone of them, no matter how good they were, or what kind of weapon they were wielding.

At the same time he felt sad. His little brother was lying on the floor unconscious, and he was bickering with Casey like he always did – ignoring everything else around him. Granted, that's what they did, but he knew for a fact that now was not the time for a pointless dispute. Noel was a masked, crazed killer, now even Ralph knew it for sure, and it was like he wanted the entire world to freeze momentarily so he could bicker with Casey. And he knew why.

He was afraid.

Yes, he was admitting it to himself. He was afraid that this would be the last time he'd get to bicker with her. The last time he'd get to see her cute face. The last time he'd get to hear her voice.

He'd never felt like this before. And he didn't want to lose it.

He was going to make damn sure he wouldn't lose it.

The three of them, jumped, startled, when Noel plopped onto their floor through the front doorway, coughing and sputtering. He was dripping with sweat, and holding his shoulder, which looked to be injured. It was bleeding profusely as he had a hand held over it.

He writhed around on the floor and as he managed to attempt standing, they noticed that his stomach area looked pretty damaged too. Bloody and gruesome as it was, Derek wasted no time whatsoever in rushing over towards Noel.

"Derek wait!" Casey called after him, but he ignored it.

"Took off that stupid mask, did you?" Derek seethed, and walked right over to Noel, yanking him off the floor, throwing him into the wall. The angry look in his eyes had never burned into someone quite as much as they did Noel in that moment.

Casey's mind was running itself ragged. Thoughts were rapidly beating through her head. Something about this wasn't right. It wasn't right at all. The look in Derek's eyes, looked like he was about to kill Noel, and she knew he would, if he was given half the chance. She watched Derek slam Noel into the wall again. She clutched her head in her hands. No. Something was really really wrong. It couldn't be Noel. There was no way. She didn't realize she'd began to pace the floor.

A split second later, she was leaping onto Derek's back, hoping to stop him from literally beating Noel into more of a bloody pulp than he already had been by the scuffle caused between him and Ralph. At least, she was assuming that's where those injuries had come from.

It just wasn't in Noel's nature to be a stalker. To kill so many people, so heartlessly. Well, okay, so maybe it kind of was, given his personality type, but there was no way in hell he'd ever do it.

"STOP IT DEREK!" Casey screamed.

To her surprise, he did stop. He completely stopped.

When he whirled around to face her, his eyes were watered up and red. He was so angry, that tears were threatening to ruin his reputation again. My God.

Casey reached out and took his arm in her hands, leaning onto it, "If he really is guilty, we'll let the police handle it."

"If? IF?!" Ralph finally piped in, coming up behind the two of them, "I seen it with my own eyes! He's the one!"

"Okay Ralph. We believe you man, but this is over." Derek replied, trying to calm the frantic Ralph down.

"Where's Sam at Derek?! HUH?!" Ralph forced Derek and Casey apart, as he took Derek by the collar.

Derek would usually have already pounded the shit out of anyone who attempted to handle him in such a manner. But given the circumstances…well…

He did shake off Ralph's grip, and replaced it with his own hands on his shoulders, as he glanced at the ground. "He's dead." He answered in a sullen, sad, tone.

"He's dead." Ralph replied in a very dramatic way, "And I tell you who is responsible for it! Responsible for killing Emily too, and probably Edwin, and yet you're just going to stand here, and say the police will handle it?!"

Casey shot a confused glance towards Ralph. Is this really the kind of effect trauma had on someone? He was acting…angry…

"That's not very punk rock, man." Ralph finished, wiping some sweat off his forehead stressfully.

Noel coughed and sputtered from the floor, and Casey knelt down to his side. She had barely began to reach out to touch him on the shoulder, when Derek ripped her off the floor.

"Are you crazy?!" he snapped at her, clearly very upset she'd even do something of that sort in front of him.

"He doesn't deserve to lie there and bleed to death, Derek!" Casey spat, "But of course you have no heart, so…"

Derek almost felt hurt by this, and was about to retort, when Noel managed to join the conversation.

"I didn't kill anyone!" He choked out, attempting to stand to his feet again.

"That's bullshit man!" Ralph screamed, kicking Noel hard in the ribs.

Noel doubled over in pain onto his back. His vision was becoming blurry. Was this what it was like? Being so close to death? If so…he didn't want to focus any of his thoughts on anyone but…

_Her face came into view. Casey…_

_She looked so worried…_

_So confused…_

_  
So beautiful…_

_She was clinging to __**his**__ arm._

_Just what did she see in him anyway? He watched her turn her face towards Derek. A look of love in her eyes, though she also seemed upset with him. _

_All he had ever wanted was to love her. To be with her._

_But she had chosen another path._

_  
She had chosen Derek._

_And it wasn't fair._

"Ralph. You need to calm down." Derek was trying to see reason with Ralph on the subject matter of Noel. "Trust me, I want to kill him. Oh you have no idea how much I want to kill him for what he's caused Casey."

For a moment, Derek had a crazed look in his eyes.

"But I can't. I won't. Because if I kill him, I get taken away." Derek glared into Ralph's semi-calm eyes now, "And I don't want that. Because…"

Casey had kneeled to Noel's side. "Noel, you're going to be alright."

It was confirmed. No way Noel could have done it. The look in his eyes were way too innocent. And hurt. And full of sorrow.

"Casey…" Noel whispered, gazing at her, his eyes beaming.

She glanced over her shoulder at Derek and Ralph, who were busy in their own conversation, and when she was sure they weren't watching, she slipped her hand into Noel's. Tears began to fill her eyes, as she watched his chest heaving, struggling to take a breath.

"I would never hurt you…" he choked, reaching up to place his hand on her cheek gently. "I would never do anything to hurt you."

Casey nodded under his touch, though unfortunately she felt nothing from it. She wasn't going to lie to herself anymore. Derek was the only person that could make her feel anything from a simple touch. Over this past week, she had learned what it meant to feel static when someone special in your heart made physical contact with you. She'd always told Emily she didn't believe that sparks really would fly the first time you kissed the one you were meant to share the rest of your life with. And it still may have not been true. But there was something very unique between Derek and her. Something she couldn't explain.

Still though, Noel was one of her dearest friends. Always had been. They shared something special too.

"Noel, just…please don't strain yourself. We're going to get you to the hospital." Casey whispered, untangling her fingers from his and standing up to confront the two squabbling boys behind her.

Derek had never seen Ralph so wound about something in his life. He swore up and down that they had every right to end Noel's life with their own hands. He was babbling on something about Sam, and Derek had decided to just listen. Let the guy vent. Obviously it's what he had needed.

He felt Casey's hand slip into his, and Derek tilted his head slightly towards her. Enough to cause Ralph to completely stop talking.

"I'm still listening, man." Derek sighed, and watched as Ralph blinked hard a few times, before stuttering at his next words.

"And Sam…" Ralph paused again, rubbing some more sweat from his brow. "It's hot in here, isn't it?"

Derek raised an eyebrow, and Casey once again was glancing at him with that confused look on her face. They watched as Ralph tugged at his shirt collar a bit.

He glanced up at them again, "Sorry I just, I must still be feeling the burn from running so fast from that fucker."

Well that made sense. Derek thought. "Alright." He said, deciding to break the silence, "It's time to call the police." He reached for the phone on the edge of the counter, and Casey edged closer into his side, his other hand now sitting cozily in both of hers.

Ralph blinked rapidly, "Oh, I don't feel so well." He looked to Derek and Casey. They were standing awfully close, looks of pure concern in their expressions.

"Casey…" came a whispered voice from the floor.

Derek rolled his eyes, placing the phone back on the counter before he'd even attempted to call the police. Seriously, Noel was like a curse he couldn't manage to get rid of. Even now, all he cared about was getting HIS girl's attention.

Or maybe Derek had finally learned a hard lesson. Jealousy was a real bitch. Of course he'd never admit to being jealous when it came to Casey and other guys. That'd just be out of character.

"Casey…it's…it's him…." Noel managed, before he lifted his pointed finger weakly.

He took his last breath.

"Noel!" Casey was by his side again in a few short seconds. This was so unfair. Why him?

And what was that he had managed to say to her? It's him? And he'd pointed. But to whom? The only people here were Ralph and…Derek. She turned to glance back at the two boys, her eyes filling with tears.

She remained where she was, unsure of whether or not she should get closer to either of them right now. But she caved under the craving for Derek's hand in hers. She reached for him, and he took her hand. There was no way either of them could be harmful. Maybe Noel hadn't known what was going on in his last moments.

"It's over Casey. He's gone." Derek whispered into her ear. "It's finally over. He can never hurt you, me, or anyone else again."

But Casey didn't feel that it was over. In fact, the nervous feeling that she hated so much, had returned to her. It was the same one she usually got when something horrible and awful was about to happen.

She burrowed herself into Derek's arms, and allowed him to hold her.

Derek was relieved as ever. They could call the cops now, and they wouldn't be laughed at, or called stupid, or be accused of being drunk or on drugs. Finally they'd have their proof. Noel was done. His reign of terror had ended. There was hope for Edwin, and Emily too. And he had the girl of his dreams resting in his arms. They'd made it. They'd finally made it.

"Oh you two make me so fucking sick!"

Derek felt a searing jab of pain shoot through his side. Casey immediately glanced up, because his body had made an unexpected jump. She gazed at him, and tried to find out what his eyes were saying to her, but they weren't saying anything. He wasn't speaking anything out of his mouth either. What was going on? What was wrong?

She felt his arms slowly fall down from around her, and he glanced down to his side, where a handful of sharp claws had just been plunged into him.

Casey stared on in horror, her jaw dropped open, her head shaking back and forth. No. This couldn't be happening. No one else was in the house with them…unless…

Derek completely dropped onto the floor, and he took the claws with him, leaving Ralph bare handed, yet satisfied that their sickening display of affection had been stopped.

Ralph snapped his glare at Casey, who took a few steps backward, shaking her head still. "Do you honestly have any idea how unfair it was for you two to be acting like that in front of me? That's not very punk rock, Casey."

Casey spent the next minute, backing away from him, trying to figure out how to speak, shaking uncontrollably, and damn near crying because of what'd happened to Derek. The shock of it all was too much. As if it hadn't been enough already. But Derek's voice was echoing through her head –

'_You're my light, Casey McDonald. So I expect you to shine for me like you know you should.'_

She slammed her hand down on the counter, and glared angrily over at Ralph, "It's you?"

Ralph raised an eyebrow at her and folded his arms across his chest.

"All along it's been you?!" Casey questioned, her eyes narrowing more and more. "You…you killed…"

Ralph rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, let's skip that part, and get to the real point here." He held out his hands, a giant goofy smile coming to his face, "We can finally be alone! Just me and you!" he paused, before giving her a thumbs up, "By the way...nice shoes."

Casey held a hand to her stomach. She didn't feel so hot at all. In fact, she was so overwhelmed by the situation at hand, and all the blood all over the floor, she had to bend over and empty the contents of her stomach into the kitchen trashcan.

"Don't you understand that I did this all for you?" Ralph continued.

She could hear his voice getting closer and she quickly whipped her head up from the trashcan, backing up still, "Stay away from me Ralph."

"Oh why?" Ralph asked, throwing his hands out to his sides, "You were always complaining! Always 'I hate Derek!' or 'I don't understand how Max can be so mean sometimes!'"

"Well just because we get tired of people sometimes doesn't mean we can take their lives away! It's not that simple!" Casey snapped, still clutching her stomach to try and stop the sick feeling from coming back.

They'd been circling the island in the kitchen as they talked. Casey felt herself becoming more and more light headed the more and more she caught so much as a glimpse of Derek lying on the floor.

"And Sam…and…how could you Ralph?" Casey asked in a strained voice, tears coursing down her cheeks like a river.

Ralph stopped pacing, and sighed, glancing at the floor, "I'll admit, I miss Sam." He looked at her again, "But when you love someone you have to make sacrifices!"

Casey glared over at him, a look of disapproval all over her face.

"Look, I'll lay it out for you." Ralph began, "See, I was watching Degrassi, and-"

"I hate you."

Ralph stopped, dead in the middle of the sentence. What had she just said? He peered over at her, "Huh?"

"I said I hate you." Casey seethed, "You've taken everyone I love from me! You're nothing but a monster Ralph. I told you from the beginning you should have just talked to me! Just asked me! Instead you wanted to play around like some freak dressed as a wolf and scaring the living daylights out of me constantly. You've caused so much pain, and anger, and fear, and grief."

Ralph was still just standing there. His jaw was hanging open. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. All this time he really had thought he was doing her a favor. And it was true. His mind had become so obsessed and corrupt, that killing had just been another bump in the road. Nothing that serious. Plus it was so metal. You couldn't be a true rocker until you'd spilled someone's blood. Right? He began to get defensive, "Well what about Derek, huh? What about Derek! He's cruel, and mean, and downright awful to everyone who gives him a sideways glance!"

"You know what Ralph?" Casey snapped, pointing an accusing finger towards him, "Derek may be a self centered, pompous jerk, who only gives a damn about himself most of the time, and doesn't care whose feelings he has to squash to uphold his tough guy rep." she noted that the glint in Ralph's eyes was looking more and more unhappy. "When he holds me in his arms, I feel like I can fly." She then added, "He's my step-brother. My shoulder to cry on. My rock. My soulmate. And I think…" she paused, "I think I'm in love with him."

Ralph shook his head back and forth, and pounded his hand to it, "Oh blah blah blah!" He spat at her, before gearing closer, so now they were standing on either side of the island. He slapped his fist down on it and gave her a dark glare.

Casey didn't know how to react to him. He had definitely blown a gasket somewhere in the head to be acting this way. What had happened to the cute and funny Ralph? Derek and Sam's best friend? The one who always had harmlessly flirted with her, who bought her ice cream at the mall and carried her bags?

She just couldn't stand the fact that this was the boy who'd killed so many people she loved and cared about. That Derek loved and cared about. She had been a friend of Ralph's, in a sense. Well, so much for that.

Before she could blink he had swiftly leaped over the island, and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulder, pulling her snuggly against him. He was wearing that smirk on his face.

That smirk used to make her laugh. Now it felt cold, and terrifying.

"Casey Casey Casey!" Ralph exclaimed, "You _used _to be in love with Derek. Obviously you can't love someone who is dead, right?" he asked her, as he had walked her around the side of the island so that they were glancing down at the motionless Derek on the floor.

"It's all about us now." Ralph continued, pulling her even more tightly to him, "Forbidden lovers, soul mates the whole time, people who stood in the way." He rambled, "But now…" he released her and clapped his hands together, rubbing them. He emitted an awful laugh, "Those things are no longer obstacles! We've defied them all! Isn't it romantic?" he paused, and glanced at her with a strange expression, "Well…in a punk rock kind of way?"

He was babbling nonsense. He was making no sense whatsoever. He really truly, was mental.

"No it's not romantic at all." Casey said, taking her chance to step away from him quickly, "Not one bit punk rock."

He had obviously been watching too much Degrassi.

Still, his words were echoing through her head. They were already haunting her. She couldn't stand it.

'_You used to be in love with Derek. Obviously you can't love someone who is dead, right?' _

'No.' She thought to herself. No he wasn't dead. She could still feel him there. There was no way…was there? Her eyes were glued to him. Lying there on the floor. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth, her eyes reddened, and it only took one blink, for tears to start flowing down her cheeks again.

"Why you little…" Ralph roared, as he lunged towards her again, grasping her by the shoulders. He threw her so hard into the wall, that it took her breath away.

She didn't even have a chance to recover either, before he'd forced her to look at him. She coughed and fought to catch her breath, but he just wouldn't let her.

"You ungrateful little bitch!" Ralph screamed into her tear streaked face, "I did all of this for you! All of it!" He shook her so roughly by the shoulders, she had to squeeze her eyes shut. "You're awful you know that?! Everyone's always said you were such a sweet, kind girl! And all this time I've know you, I've thought the same! But you show me no thanks for what I've done for you!"

"Stop it!" she screamed back, "Just stop it!"

"Stop it?" Ralph replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He watched her meaningfully for a few more seconds, before placing both arms on either side of her. His head hung down towards the floor momentarily, and he laughed quietly, before looking up at her again, "Obviously my acts of chivalry…my poetic awakening…the blood I've spilled isn't good enough for you."

Casey managed to glance up at him. What the hell?

"No!" Ralph threw his hands up in the air, freeing the space beside her, but he didn't move away, so her means of escaping the situation were still on hold. "You don't want to love me!"

Another split second passed by and he had changed his expression to a glare once again. "I don't know what to tell you then, Casey." He shook his head, and reached into his back pocket.

Casey's eyes widened as she watched him pull a clawed glove into view.

"If I can't have you after I've sacrificed my entire life-" He cut himself off, "Well…my entire sanity…that is…" he corrected before continuing, "Then why should anyone else?"

Casey was shaking at this point. Not only has his entire expression just changed, but so had his eyes. They were serious. And they were deadly.

He had slipped the clawed glove over his hand, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Just tell me one more thing…"

Casey closed her eyes shut tight again. This couldn't be it, could it? She was sure he was going to kill her now. Stupid! Why hadn't she just agreed to his insane charade? If only the police would show up. Speaking of police, they still hadn't managed to make that call, had they?

It was seeming more hopeless than ever now. She partially blamed herself. She could have easily lied to Ralph, and played along. But no. She had to have morals, and honesty, and all the other irritating quirks that got under Derek's skin.

Oh Derek. Her rock…

"Are you afraid of the big bad wolf?" He laughed manically as he raised his hand.

Casey kept her eyes closed. Any second now.

She felt a rapid gust of wind blow across her face. She thought for sure she'd been stabbed. Her body was just in shock. That's just how it happened, right?

"Doesn't feel very good, does it?"

That voice! She knew that voice! It was…

Her eyes shot open. There he was. The boy she loved. He was standing behind Ralph, with one hand clutching his side, the other was launched into Ralph's back, who was currently hunched over in pain, sputtering.

His eyes lifted to meet hers, and changed from the angry expression to a firm, strict one, as he motioned her to hurry and get out.

Before she could, Ralph had reared around, ripping the glove off Derek's hand in the process. One of his arms had flown into Casey, shoving her so hard that she fell into the corner of the island, smacking her head at such a rough impact the entire room started jumping around. She had noticed though, that the glove was still stuck in him. Its claws had sank themselves almost completely into his lower back. She dropped down to the floor. She had suddenly become extremely tired.

Still she was fighting the good fight. She just needed to shut her eyes for a few moments.

Ralph emitted a frustrated growl and launched himself on top of Derek, sending them both to the floor, and also sending his claws into Derek's stomach. "You! You're still trying to take her away from me!"

"Ahh fuck!" Derek yelled painfully, as his body went into shock again.

Ralph ripped the claws out of Derek's gut and lifted it again, preparing to plunge them in again, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow, and turned around, only to be met with a strong fist in the jaw.

This fist must have had the fire of 1,000 suns behind it, because it sent him rolling off of Derek and across the floor. He shook his head, trying to regain his senses. A searing pain was coursing through his jaw. It was clearly broken.

Casey opened her eyes slightly. Everything was still blurry, but had stopped bouncing around so much. She reached a shaky hand up to her head. She was bleeding profusely from where her head had connected with the corner of the island.

She made out a blurry figure, moving across the kitchen, but that was all she could take before she sunk onto the floor again and closed her eyes.

Ralph shakily put a hand to his jaw as he struggled to get up. That blow had really knocked him for a loop. He steadied himself on the counter, but not before whom ever had hit him the first time, hit him again. He fell against the counter, this time, his nose gushing. Well…at least they'd knocked his vision straight. He turned to see who his attacker had been, and needless to say, it infuriated him even more. "Why can't you just die?!"

Another searing pain sunk into his stomach. He grunted, and coughed, blood spattering the floor and counter.

The person wearing the claws this time, stumbled a little in their own weakness. They'd been injured severely, and Ralph's weight was pressing downward, as his body was giving out.

A second later, Ralph had collapsed onto the floor, where he lay, taking his last few breaths.

"Because…" the voice finally replied to his question, as he peered down at him, "I'm a Venturi, bitch. Losing isn't in our nature."

Ralph sputtered out a bloody laugh, "Dude….Edwin…." he paused, straining for breath, "That's so…punk…rock…"

And with that, Ralph had exhaled for the last time. Spoken his last words.

And for Edwin, all went black again.

**XOXO**

Derek awoke to the shrill voice of a hysteric nurse.

"DOCTOR!"

His vision adjusted only to see the figure of a nurse walking out of a large, dark room.

He glanced around for a moment, feeling a deep pain in his side and stomach.

"Ugh…" He lifted his hand to his head. He sure had a huge migraine.

He discovered quickly that he was in a hospital, as the whirring sound of a heart monitor machine stood beside his bed.

What…was going on?

Suddenly he jolted into a sitting position, his eyes darting around in all directions. Ralph! Was he here too? What had happened? What day was it? So many questions flooded his mind, but when his eyes fell upon the scene at edge of his bed, all other thoughts left.

She was so beautiful.

The nurse rushed back in with a man following behind her.

"She won't stay in her own room, I just don't know what to do! Everytime I come to check, she's in here at his bedside!"

"Calm yourself Norrine." The doctor sighed, "Her injuries weren't enough for her to be bed ridden. Though we will have the address the issue that it is important that this young man gets his rest, and that she will need to leave him be in the meanti-Oh!" the doctor paused as his eyes fell to the very alert and awake Derek.

Derek folded his arms over his chest and glared at them both. Seriously. Trying to take his Casey away from him? They had another thing coming.

"Mr. Venturi." The doctor addressed, "You're awake."

"What day is it?" Derek asked him bluntly.

"Sunday." The doctor replied, "Mr. Venturi I must advise you that the position in which you're sitting isn't good for your recovery-"

"Don't really care doc." Derek cut him off, and almost wanted to laugh at the doctor's shocked expression. "Has my family been here?"

The doctor nodded in response, "Yes, they've been here since early Saturday morning. Came as soon as we made the call to them. Said they'd been away on a business trip. Let me tell you, you both are right lucky. If the police hadn't been called…"

The doctor's voice trailed off in Derek's head. The police? Someone had finally managed to alert the police?

At this point, Casey was stirring at the foot of Derek's bed, and he watched as her two eyes slowly opened. She stretched slightly, before sitting up off the bed, and glancing around.

Derek was waiting to catch her eyes, and when he finally did, she rushed up to his side, grasping his hand in hers, and damn near barreling the doctor over.

"Derek!" she began frantically, "You're awake! I was so worried!"

"Miss!" the nurse stepped forward and snapped, "Miss, come on, back to your room immediately!"

"Oh! But-" Casey began to protest.

"Come now or I'm going to call-"

"With all do respect." Derek interrupted, causing the nurse's attention to be turned back towards him. He had a smug smirk plastered across his face, and he gave Casey's hand a slight squeeze, "The only one in this room who needs to leave is you. Because all of your pointless screeching is giving me a headache."

The nurse's jaw dropped momentarily and she looked at the doctor, who turned to Derek again. "Mr. Venturi, I must press on you the urgency of your recov-"

"The longer it takes for you both to leave, the longer it takes for me to recover." Derek snapped, "Because this girl…" he glanced down at Casey, who turned her head to face his. Their eyes locked into a gaze.

It took every inch of self control for Derek to rip his attention away from her again, as he looked at the doctor and nurse again, "This girl is my real healing. And I need her."

The doctor sighed, and the nurse folded her arms and let out a grunt.

Never the less, she was disappointed when the doctor said the girl could remain in his room for a half hour, and that they would leave.

Derek watched the nurse stormed out, a smirk plastered on his face, "She wants me."

"Derek Venturi!" Casey snapped, causing him to glare at her. "How could you deny yourself proper rest and recovery!" she shouted more than asked.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

"I would have gladly left the room! Though…maybe I didn't really want to, that's besides the point! The nurse was right after all! You do need to rest, and if they believe that I'm actually prolonging that, than how could I stay in here with you!" she stood to her feet, breaking the grasp of their hands, and holding her hand to her head, where a bandage covered a small square area, "I must still be suffering the trauma of my own injuries to be…"

She turned her back to him, as her rambling trailed off in Derek's mind. Well, he could see she hadn't changed much. His attention directed to her head. What had happened? He still did have so many questions going through his brain, but right now, none of that mattered to him.

Waking up in the hospital was the 2nd to best thing that had ever happened to him. Not only had he survived, and made it through the hardest week of his life, but so had she. He had woken up to seeing her peaceful, beautiful face. Which led up to the 1st best thing that had ever happened to him. Falling in love with her.

"And another thing that just makes me simply furious-" Casey had still been going but she was cut off as a strong grip fastened itself around her wrist, pulling her down gently.

She whipped her head around to see Derek smirking at her, smugly. "Do you always have to be running that obnoxious flap of yours?"

Casey's jaw dropped open, and she was about to respond, but didn't get a chance.

She immediately plunged into a blissful world where no wolves existed. A world where no pain was possible. A world where her heart was always beating as rapidly fast as it was now.

And if Derek Venturi's kisses always made her feel this way from now on? She was sure she believed sparks could really fly.

**XOXO**

A soft tapping woke Edwin. He inhaled deeply, and sat up in his bed. He'd been awake already a few times that weekend, only when needing more medication for the awful stinging in his side. Thankfully, his dad had said when he came to see him, 'the blood of a Venturi will only spill for someone worth it'.

Unlike Derek, Edwin was fully aware of what day and time it was, and where he was at. He also already knew the full story of his injuries, which had luckily not caused any permanent damage other than a ruptured nerve, and a scraped rib.

His dad and Nora had been buzzing in and out of his room left and right, only leaving when they needed to go check on Marti at the sitter's, and eat, shower, and sleep. Some of the sleeping, Nora had done there anyway. She was so upset and in hysterics when she first had come. After the doctor had obviously informed them of the situation at hand, they'd done nothing but talk about it. And Edwin had made a mental note to firmly tell them, that he'd rather never talk about the big bad wolf again.

"Come in." He said, loudly enough for whomever was standing on the other side of the door to hear him.

The door cracked, and Lizzie poked her head in, "Feel like having a visitor?"

A smile graced his features, "Of course!"

Lizzie smiled in return and walked in, shutting the door behind her. She pulled a chair to his bedside and sat down in it. "How are you feeling?"

He shot her a look of indecisiveness. "I've definitely felt better."

Lizzie smiled again, "I was really worried about you."

"Really?" Edwin exclaimed, sitting up straighter, causing himself a slight streak of sharp pain.

Lizzie immediately recognized that he had gone and strained himself, and scolded him for it. So, after Lizzie had gotten onto him, and Edwin had returned to his resting posture in the bed, he asked again. "You were really worried about me?"

"Of course!" Lizzie snapped, almost as if the question had offended her, "The doctors were telling us they didn't know if Derek would survive, and that Casey was on the verge of a coma, and…and you!"

She began pacing the floor as if she were stressed beyond the max. After a few seconds of her carrying on the behavior, she plopped into her seat again.

Edwin raised an eyebrow. Was that a glint of…a tear in her eye?

"I don't even want to talk about what they were saying about you." She muttered, her voice cracking.

"But, Liz, I-"

"About how you had…been injured severely in the side, and how if you're ruptured nerve hadn't clotted, that you'd have bled to death, and…and…" Lizzie continued struggling to talk with him about it. "Oh Edwin!"

She buried her head down onto his hospital bed.

Obviously this subject was as painful for her to talk about as it had been for him to experience.

"Lizzie, haven't I taught you anything? Doctor's exaggerate." Edwin said, in a very Derek like manner. He wasn't one to be that smug, but he had to cheer her up somehow, right?

Lizzie lifted her head, and glared at him through tears.

Edwin immediately added an, "But who am I to know how serious it really was?" He threw his hands up in the air.

She smiled softly.

"Oh good." Edwin said, "You're smiling. It stresses me out when you're upset. I don't know how to make it better."

"Well you're a lot better at it than you think." Lizzie replied, standing from her chair.

Edwin's smile faded, "Where are you going?"

"Oh. I told mom I'd be down at the car in 10 minutes." Lizzie explained, "I'll be back! But we have a lot of cleaning up at the house to do before you guys are released."

Edwin sighed, and nodded. He watched as she gave him another smile and a slight wave. She spun on her heel, and Edwin plunged himself into a mental struggle.

If he was going to do it, he needed to do it now.

"Hey Lizzie?"

"Yeah?" Lizzie responded quickly, and was immediately at his bedside again.

"Um." Edwin began. When he noticed the questioning glance on his face, he lost all the words he had wanted to say to her. So instead, he reached behind his pillow, and pulled out a small, folded up piece of paper.

Lizzie watched as he extended it to her, and she took it slowly, "What is it Edwin?"

"Just…" he paused, thinking he should explain, but there really was nothing to explain. It was all in the letter he'd just handed her, "Just read it."

Lizzie felt the urge to ask more questions, but found herself nodding instead. She left the hospital room with a smile, holding the note tightly in her hands.

**XOXO**

**(EPILOGUE)**

_3 months later…_

_Hey journal, it's Derek._

_Really this is so stupid and pointless. Writing in a journal? Well…it's what the therapist told me I should do. I'd rather do this than keep attending weekly sessions, listening to the idiot blare at me with his monotone voice, so, hey, might as well make the best of it._

_It's been 3 months today since the week from hell ended. _

_Needless to say, a lot has happened since then. For one, I thought Nora and dad were going to up and kill Edwin, Casey, and I ourselves after we'd healed from our injuries. They were pissed when they found out from us that this had been going on an entire week. Nora went into a long lecture about lying and how she couldn't believe I'd had the nerve to tell her everything was okay during the nights she'd called, when they really weren't._

_Of course, Edwin himself was pretty pissed when he found out he'd been kept in the dark too until that very last night._

_They've finally calmed down a little. Wait, who am I kidding they've become obsessively protective! Especially Nora. Casey and I barely get any time to ourselves alone without one of them bursting in asking us if we're okay and what kind of dark secrets we could possibly be hiding now._

_I'm really glad, that during these past few months, Smarti had been sent to stay with my mom. Even though I miss her like crazy, even I agree she's too young to be around this. I'm not even completely myself or back to normal yet. Who would have thought something like this could be so hard to recover from? We're expecting Smarti home in 2 weeks._

_Lizzie's gotten to stay. Because she's older, and Casey confides in her. _

_Apparantly now so does Edwin. If I'd have know the little punks 'crush' had been Lizzie all along, I'd have advised him to grow some balls and just call her. Go figure, he worked his magic through a letter idea Casey recommended to him. I yelled at him for that. Venturi boys do not write letters. They just don't. And he'll do well to remember it next time._

_Lizzie's been good for him though. I don't think he'd be in such light spirits without her around. She felt the need to read this so-called romantic letter to me completely. Something along the lines of 'blah blah blah you mean a lot to me. Blah blah blah, I've liked you for a long time. Then, get this, she blurts out that she loved it so much she had went back to the hospital the night he'd given it to her, and kissed him. I mean, what the hell! If I'd have gotten a letter from him, I'd have thrown it in the trashcan. Guess Lizzie's heart is easy to sway. If that's true, he'll need those heroic, punching fists of his for high school. I'd hate to think what would happen the first time she got all giggly over a guy who merely winks at her. Seriously the entire situation makes me sick. _

_Casey's recovery has been slow. She has nightmares almost every night. She'll wake me up screaming, or in tears. A couple times I've even woken up because the blood flow in my arm has stopped. Because she'll have been gripping it so tightly in her sleep. _

_Yes. She sleeps in my bed now._

_I convinced Nora and George it would be better for her if she could wake up with someone next to her that knew how to talk to her and calm her down. Of course, they quizzed me about that subject, saying they didn't understand because we've always hated each other._

_Boy have they missed a lot. They still don't know._

_She still goes twice a week to a therapist, and attempts to talk about what she suffered. I overheard Nora on the phone with the guy the other day. He says she's making progress. I guess that's a good thing. Never known a doctor to actually be good for something. But if he's making progress with Casey, it's good enough for me._

_We talk a lot. About that week. To each other. We've come to the conclusion that somehow our lives hit a black hole and suddenly sent us to the 9th circle of hell. We still have problems talking about the fact that it was Ralph._

_The strangest part of it all is when the police questioned his mom, she said she'd had no clue what he was doing. They searched his room. Not one single thing they looked through led them to suspect he'd have ever had something wrong with him. Or that he'd been the one doing this. _

_Alot of things are still left unexplained, but I guess sometimes it's for the best. _

_We bring up Emily often. Who didn't make it by the way. She had suffered too much internal bleeding, and her body eventually gave up. She fought the good fight, and may I add that she ended up being the real hero. I overheard Nora talking to her parents on the phone. Said that she'd been found with her cell phone in her hand, the number to 911 had been dialed. Her body had managed to scrounge up what little life was left in it and make the call before she left us._

_Sheldon has been a real mess about it, but he's been getting better over the last couple weeks. Tomorrow we're going to the cemetery together. Sheldon, Casey, and I – to pay our respects to our lost loved ones._

_  
I miss Sam so much. And Sally and Kendra. _

_  
Casey mourns over Noel and Max, which…somehow even though they're gone still makes me jealous. But setting all that aside, R.I.P. dudes. You were both responsible for making Casey smile at times. You have my respect for those moments._

_We both know they're all shining down on us from wherever they are up there. Probably laughed at me yesterday when I fell down the stairs. I know Sam and Emily were. I just want to shake my fist at the sky sometimes. I just know they're laughing._

_As for me? _

_Well…not much to say but that I hate myself for becoming such a love struck, jackass. _

_Seriously, if I could go back to the moment when my heart decided to fall so hard for her, I'd do anything in my power to…_

_No. I'm just trying to kid myself. I wouldn't change a thing. _

_I'm very in love with Casey McDonald._

_Who knew once you found the light that it would shine so brightly?_

_But that's just between you and me. I have a rep to up hold. _

**END.**

* * *

**Final AN : I hope you guys have enjoyed the journey as much as I've enjoyed writing about it. When I started Stalking Casey - I'd have never dreamed for it to turn into what it has. EACH.AND.EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.OF.YOU have made this an amazing experience for me, and you have my eternal thanks for the encouraging reviews and compliments you've left me over the course of the story. **

**A HUGE thanks to MIRANDA aka LADY AZURA who has become one of my greatest friends, and my partner in crime through the length of the story. She's been such an inspiration to me - and if it weren't for her - Stalking Casey would have simply remained a beautiful idea.**

**Another thanks to PinkJelly - for urging me to expand my horizons here - otherwise the story might never have made it here.**

**And of course...one more huge thanks, perhaps the largest thanks of them all goes to ALL OF YOU - for reading it. For giving it a chance. And for sticking by Derek and Casey's sides until the very end.**

**Until next time - Stephanie (stephluvvsyou).**


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